Ranma & Kaneda
by Ron Dow75
Summary: It's a war of the sex. Which will be the girl?
1. Default Chapter

Ranma & Kaneda  
By Ron Dow75  
From an idea by James M. Zema,  
unauthorized, but allowed.  
  
{} indicate thoughts.  
  
[I based the layout of the Tendou house on floorplans I   
found on the web. One is "The Tendo Dojo", of "Jinma   
Saotome's MKR Anime World".  
  
[The only complete statistics I found was at "The   
Ultimate Nabiki Tendo Site". Using her a the guide, I   
readjusted up by 2 inches "Doug's Ranma ½ Resources.   
Everything else is my best guess based on Nabiki; they   
are not to be read as exact.]  
  
(Note: The holes have been left on purpose they'll be   
filled in later.)  
  
01: And There's Kaneda!  
  
  
Nineteen years earlier, one of the apprentices to a thief   
had been looking through his master's treasures. He came   
on some ancient writing. Hoping to learn some martial   
arts secrets, he read. It was story about a magic spring   
in Japan that turned foxes into young men.  
  
A thought struck him. If a freshly delivered newborn were   
cleaned with water from that spring before the mother   
knew of its original sex....  
  
It was too bad Soun Tendou never had the chance to finish   
reading the text.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
A handsome, middle-aged man with long black hair and a   
moustache, and wearing a gray brown, black belt do-  
gi/training uniform sat at his Japanese-style table. His   
back was to the open fusuma/sliding paper-and-wood doors   
that framed his garden. He read a postcard, and wept, "At   
last! At long last! Ranma is coming!"   
  
His tears flowing even more freely now, he turned over to   
glance at the picture of the panda on the other side,   
thinking for a moment it might be mean something. "And   
soon, VERY soon, Ranma will be here!"  
  
He lifted his head in his family room. "Listen up!   
Kasumi! Nabiki! Kaneda!"  
  
He went down the hall to the kitchen. Pushing aside the   
door flounce. "Kasumi?"  
  
The tall young woman in her pink house slippers was   
modestly but tastefully dressed in a pink midi, light   
yellow long sleeved blouse, and a white apron that   
matched the ribbon bow at her shoulder that her long   
brown hair was tied in. She paused in her meal   
preparation to answer, "What is it Father?"   
  
The man opened a door, "Nabiki."  
  
The teenager, her shiny brown hair in a long bob, was in   
white cutoff shorts with yellow lining, an oversized   
tucked-in, green t-shirt and a pink tank top under it.   
She looked up from the magazine she was reading while   
stretched down on the bed. "Hmm?"   
  
The man opened another bedroom door, "Kaneda!" He was a   
little frustrated to find the room empty. "Where is that   
boy?"   
  
Soun Tendou shrugged. "Well, it doesn't really concern   
him. Ranma can't be Kaneda's fiancee..."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kaneda came home from his jog about the town. The 179   
cm/5'10", 69 kg/153# teenager had long loose hair like   
his father. But HIS was red. He went straight to the area   
of white sand in front of the "Tendou School of Anything-  
Goes Martial Arts" dojo. There he shucked the running   
shoes, blue shorts, green tank and short white towel and   
got into his yellow do-gi with the red belt.   
  
Ready to take out his remaining frustrations, he got into   
position before the cinderblocks on cinderblocks he'd set   
out on the arena outside the dojo earlier.   
  
"HA-YIIYA!!" He broke them with one blow.  
  
He smiled, and straightened up. Wiping the brow over his   
blue eyes, he said, "Hoo-wa! That felt okay!"  
  
Flash! Went the camera his sister was holding. And she   
had another beefcake picture for anybody who'd buy them.  
  
"There you go again, Kaneda," said Nabiki entering the   
arena in front of the dojo. "Can't you do normal things,   
like date girls?"   
  
Kaneda's temper returned, "No! I'm not going to let you   
set me up on a date, Nabiki! Not every guy's world   
revolves around...Girls!"  
  
Nabiki gave her cynical look, "Then why do you hang out   
with Hiroshi and Daisuke?"  
  
It was obvious that got to him. It was too easy. Nabiki   
decided not to push it any further. It was enough that he   
was reminded that she knew. "Daddy has called a family   
meeting in the living room. He says it'll change the life   
of at least one of us."  
  
Kaneda's glum frown remained. "I bet it won't change   
mine."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
The cherry blossoms fell outside the open sliding doors   
to the garden. Soun Tendou addressed his children sitting   
on the other side of the repositioned table. Nabiki had   
changed into an aqua-and-purple, floral kimono, while all   
Kasumi had to do was take off her apron to be   
presentable. Kaneda, on the other hand, was still wearing   
his sweaty do-gi.   
  
Kasumi wondered, "Fiance?"  
  
"Yes. The son of a very good friend of mine. His name is   
Ranma Saotome.  
  
"His father and I trained together. We made a pledge to   
see the two families joined. You could say you have been   
betrothed since birth."  
  
Kaneda relaxed. This had nothing to do with him. He   
leaned back on his hands on the mats. Glancing his blue   
eyes at Nabiki, he smiled. It was HIS turn, "You're   
trying to look out for you daughters. I am the son, and   
tradition says that's who should carry on with the school   
and dojo. You're lucky you had me, Dad. Thanks to   
me, the Tendou Family Legacy is secure."  
  
Nabiki reminded little brother, "IF you can find the   
money to pay the inheritance tax." Again, she got a   
reaction from him.   
  
Soun Tendou was not comfortable with that line of   
conversation. He refused to remember why. Looking down at   
the postcard in his hand was the distraction he needed,   
"He'll be here any minute."  
  
He got up from the table. "Ranma and his father have been   
on a training mission." He turned to look at his garden,   
another, another excuse not to have to look at them.   
  
The tall man rose up. "Recently they crossed into China!"  
  
"Ooo, China!" Nabiki gushed. She was definitely going to   
have to date. She sounded like a giddy middle schoolgirl.  
  
Kaneda was still taking it all casually, "So he hiked all   
the way to China: Wow. Big deal." {Dad never took me on a   
training mission. He's hardly trained me at all, in   
fact.}  
  
Kasumi asked, "Father, how old is this, Ranma?" She still   
had not blinked since hearing about a fiance.   
  
Nabiki asked, "Is he cute?!" The problem was, she   
sincerely wanted to know.  
  
Kasumi said, "Younger men bore me," raising her own   
criterion.  
  
Kaneda asked, "What kind of guy is he?" {Is he going to   
be a jerk that was going to give the family trouble?}  
  
"Ha, ha," Mr. Tendou gave a false laugh. "I don't know,"   
he said, looking over his shoulder, unable to move the   
rest of his body.  
  
Nabiki turned her look on her 'Daddy', "You don't know?!"  
  
The man went back to not facing them. "I've never met   
him."  
  
Kasumi said nothing: She stared at her father.  
  
Nabiki said nothing: She stared at her parental unit.  
  
Kaneda wondered again about just what he'd inherited from   
this man.   
  
A cold silence filled the spring-lit room.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
They head a familiar sound echoing from the foyer.  
  
Kasumi said, "It sounds like the front door," almost   
getting up.  
  
Nabiki had no problem jumping up. "Ooo. Ranma!" she   
cried, running out of the family room to meet them as   
fast as her kimono would allow.   
  
Kaneda looked at how silly she was acting. "Boy, am I   
glad I'm not a girl."  
  
But his dad was already following her lead, "Saotome. My   
friend, we've been waiting!" {That's Dad!} he sighed.  
  
Kasumi had gotten up, so Kaneda had to, too. He followed   
her into the garden hall.  
  
She said, "I hope he's older than me!"   
  
Kanda shook his head again at the way girls thought. He   
could understand guys wanting younger girls. But why   
wouldn't girls want younger guys? Well, it helped the   
guys get their younger girls.  
  
"Hhmm-mmm!!" Nabiki's girly mood had completely vanished.   
She came running around the corner, and straight towards   
Kasumi and Kaneda. Their father followed, just as   
shocked.  
  
Kaneda's martial arts training was sparked. {I'm dressed   
for it, this time!}  
  
Next around the corner was a (very) short red haired boy   
in Chinese clothes being carried by a--   
  
Kaneda's spark was extinguished. There was nothing in his   
training that prepared him for this. For here in his   
house was a very large panda walking on its hind legs!   
  
Kasumi standing in the way stopped Nabiki's flight. Then   
her own martial arts training kicked in, and she made to   
protect her sister. Somewhat.   
  
Seeing his children 'standing ground'(his son, though,   
the furthest back, and still), Soun Tendou was forced to   
turn and face the intruders. He nearly froze.  
  
"Com' on, Pop! You're scarin' them spitless!!" the young   
boy yelled at the beast.  
  
The daughters were each holding onto one of their   
father's arms, half hiding behind him; Nabiki more so.   
Despite the wide open door to the outside, Soun felt   
trapped.  
  
Kasumi said, "So, Father, this is your friend?" She used   
a quiet voice so as not to startle the wild animal.  
  
"Hm, Hm, Hnn!" he shook his head hard enough to send his   
long hair whipping back and forth.  
  
Nabiki glared at a father who couldn't take his off the   
beast, "Oh, so this panda just decided to drop in, is   
that it, hunh?"   
  
"Hm, Hm, Hnn!" His head swished his hair again. Nabiki   
found she couldn't bring herself to look AWAY from her   
one parental figure. If faith didn't spur him to act like   
a man, at least she had Kaneda. Maybe: But why wasn't he   
doing anything, either!?!  
  
The monstrous black-and-white form took the small boy off   
its shoulder and set him down before the family.   
  
The animal didn't attack, not even the boy. Kaneda got   
his equilibrium back. {It's always better to know what   
you're fighting, first.} His senses now wanted to pay   
more attention on the blue-eyed boy. {And he's got red   
hair, just like me, too.}   
  
Soun Tendou held up a shaking finger, pointing it towards   
him. "You wouldn't be..."  
  
There was something about that boy that disturbed Kaneda.   
{But it didn't feel like a threat.} He moved as close to   
him as he could. Nabiki was in the way, but he was tall.  
  
The boy noticed Kaneda stare among all the other stares.   
He turned his blue eyes away from them. "I'm Ranma   
Saotome. Sorry about this."  
  
Mr. Tendou said, "At last, you're here!" trying to   
recover his dignity, but forgetting the next line of his   
greeting.  
  
Kaneda noted there was something wrong (or right) about   
Ranma's face. {Why do I be interested in a kid's body?}  
  
Nabiki was also trying to recover her self-possession.   
"Ooo. He is cute."  
  
The man of the house proved his strength by taking Ranma   
into a great bear hug. "I'm so glad you're here!" he   
assured everybody, pressing the boy to his chest...and   
stomach.  
  
Kaneda became instantly jealous of his dad for some   
reason. {If I'd been more of a man that could've been   
me.}  
  
Soun's eye nearly bugged, "Hmm!?!"  
  
He pressed the boy to his stomach this time. Again. A   
third time. But a boy shouldn't have them.  
  
Now it wasn't just the clues his stomach felt. Under that   
wet silk shirt, he was sure he felt....  
  
He took his hands off of Ranma's back, and brought them   
to the skin exposed by the short sleeves.  
  
He still tried denying that feeling. A feeling that   
caused him to break out in an instant sweat. He was   
fighting feelings he hadn't had for--  
  
He pushed Ranma way by the shoulders. "Huh! Uh!" He   
choked on the words.   
  
Nabiki's saw his reaction. She got the idea, and turned   
to Ranma. She squatted down to be at eye level with,   
"Hmm..." She poked Ranma's chest, then rubbed it.   
  
Now Kaneda was jealous of his sister! {There's one   
advantage to being a girl.}  
  
They were unpleasant feelings for Ranma, "Uh, hmm: Could   
you stop that."   
  
The words were wrong, but there was something about the   
way Ranma said that that Kaneda liked. {What a wonderful   
voice ...for a--}  
  
Nabiki turned to announce, "Ranma's not a boy: He's a   
girl!"  
  
Soun repeatd, "Uh, girl!" He fainted.  
  
Kaneda was on his butt.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Soun woke up in his futon, pillow and blanket in the   
family room.   
  
He heard Kasumi say, "Oh, poor father; he must be so   
disappointed."  
  
Nabiki's frustrations spilled out, "HE'S Disappointed!   
He's not the only one! Look at HER! Some fiancee...." Soun   
had been out long enough for Nabiki to change back into   
the two shirts and the cutoff shorts.   
  
Kaneda said, "Stop it you two. She is our guest!"  
  
Nabiki said, "I can see YOU'RE not disappointed." Kaneda   
hadn't realized how desperate Nabiki was. So much for the   
ice queen.  
  
Kasumi noted, "Look everyone. Father's coming to."  
  
Nabiki leaned over him, "This is all your fault, Daddy.   
Don't you know the difference between a boy and a girl?!"   
  
Kaneda thought, (I didn't see it at first either. Is that   
normal, or something else that only happens to Tendou   
guys?)  
  
Soun answered, "I assumed my friend Genma's son was a   
boy."  
  
Nabiki reached over and squeezed one of Ranma's boobs,   
"Excuse me, does this look like a boy to you, hunh,   
Daddy!?!"  
  
Kaneda wondered, {Could I ever come up with an excuse to   
do that?}  
  
This was worse than the first time she'd handled her   
breasts. Ranma, trying to be a guest told her, frowning,   
"Please. I wish you'd stop that!"  
  
Kaneda spoke up, "Yeah, Nabiki! Leave Ranma alone! You   
want her to think you're a homo."  
  
Nabiki took her hand away. Embarrassed now, she struck   
back, "Me!? What about YOU?"  
  
This was it. Showdown. "What ABOUT me?!"  
  
Their guest (and behind her the panda) was sitting   
between her and Kaneda. And Daddy was lying in front of   
her, with Kasumi at kneeling by his head. Nabiki said,   
"Nothing."  
  
Kaneda wanted a new subject, "Are you a martial artist,   
too, Ranma?"  
  
Ranma looked up at him with her big blue eyes and nodded,   
"Umh, hmm."  
  
Kaneda asked, "We have our own dojo. Do you want to spar?   
I promise to go easy on you."  
  
Ranma began to get some fire in her, "Why would you have   
to go easy on me?"  
  
Kaneda said, chivalrously, "You ARE a girl."  
  
The other redhead leaped to her bare feet, "I'll show you   
how much of a 'girl' I am. I'LL be the one goin' easy on   
you." There was something about this guy that was rubbing   
her the wrong way. That wasn't like her. She didn't like   
feelings. She didn't know how to handle them. She tried   
to put on a personable front, but not get involved in   
their emotions. That's how she'd endured the looks she'd   
been getting.  
  
So what was it about this guy that was pushing her   
buttons!?  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
The much taller Kaneda showed the pigtailed girl {She has   
to be a C cup} to the dojo. {It's more authentic than   
most I've seen.} "You studied Kempo?"   
  
Ranma entered. "A little."  
  
Kaneda said, "Well, why don't we have a little match,   
then."  
  
Ranma smirked. "Okay, then. A 'little match' it'll be."  
  
Kaneda set himself in his bare feet and got into the   
position. Ranma just stood there with her hands behind   
her back. "You said you knew how to fight?"  
  
Ranma said, confidently, "Go ahead. Give it your best   
shot."  
  
Kaneda told himself, {Easy, now. Getting mad wouldn't be   
the smoothest move. You don't win girls that way.} He   
said, "Don't worry. I won't hurt you."  
  
He threw his fist, index and middle joints out.  
  
The girl jumped over it! He had wanted to impress her by   
how close he could come without touching her as a See-  
you-can-trust-me tactic!  
  
He threw up a flat foot kick. "Yea!" The girl leaned her   
body to the side.... "Yea!" Again, not even close ..."Yea!" a   
blow; a lean to the other side..."Yea!" a blow to the   
right; another simple lean away..." Yea!" an instep kick   
straight up the middle; she leaned backwards! Motions he   
made raised his long red hair.  
  
And still she was smirking! {And here I thought there   
might be ONE girl I could reach out for.}  
  
"What's wrong!?! Attack me!!" Combination blows: Right   
fist, "Hy-Aagh!" Left fist, "Aaarh!" Left fist, "Yearh!"  
  
Panting hard, and hot from more than just the exertion,   
he thought, {Why, why am I missing her!?! Is she reading   
my moves!?}  
  
"Okay, this time for real!" and he charged. "Aarrgh-  
Yeeaaa!!"  
  
POW!   
  
The girl decked him. Kaneda whacked his head hard on the   
floor.  
  
Ranma stepped over the son of his host saying, "Maybe if   
you challenge me like a true martial artist, next time,   
I'll give you that sparing match."  
  
The intent was not lost on Kaneda. A girl was better at   
his heritage than he was.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
His head hurt. Little did he suspect what could happen   
when somebody got their head banged by Ranma.   
  
Sulking for long minutes as the pain eased, Kaneda   
finally got to his feet. He went through his katas. He   
couldn't get Ranma out of his mind. "That was only the   
first round."  
  
He started rehearsing out loud, "It's not like I don't   
want to be a martial artist..." {No, that's no good.} "I do   
want to be martial artist. I have to be a martial artist!   
I owe it to... not just my dad." No, she doesn't seem to be   
the kind of girl who goes for melodramas.} "Ever since my   
mom died, Dad has been very emotional. And I mean   
emotional! Instead of normal outbursts, his are all wet."   
{Oh, that's it; admit how weird Dad can be.} "Look! It's   
not my fault! Dad owns a dojo, but he doesn't spend any   
time in it! I've learned the best I can." {Okay, so I   
don't practice as much as I could.} "I've even gotten   
help from a coach! But he's busy most of the time. If I   
had somebody who could stay around, and help me--"   
  
A match had been struck: "That's it! With Ranma by my   
side, we CAN make the Tendou dojo a legacy worth owning!"  
  
A fire had been lit in his belly. "I lost the bet, and I   
won! The life that's going to change is mine! Ranma is   
going to be MY fiancée!"  
  
He headed out of the dojo, smiling. "And she's cute!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Walking into the house, Kaneda started having second   
thoughts. {She's cute, and dangerous!}   
  
[In his head he heard Hiroshi say, 'Are you a martial   
artist or not?'   
  
[And Daisuke say, 'Cowards don't get the girls!'  
  
[Frowning, Kaneda 'told' them, you're ones to talk.]  
  
But they were right. Ever since he was old enough to   
understand why there were guys and girls, he had been   
coward. That's why he hung out with Hiroshi Tsujitani and   
Daisuke Koyasu. Their interest in girls was like an   
inoculation shot for his reputation. Their {Ahem!} 'luck'   
with the girls meant he wasn't expected to actually date.   
Because they were losers, he was a loser.   
  
{Loser!} The word had him close his hand into a fist.   
{Even if he loses, a martial artist much put a fight! A   
martial artist must earn respect. I must earn Ranma's   
respect. Only when she respects me can I hope to win her.   
A wife should respect her husband.} "Yes! This girl will   
be different," Kaneda said, untying the red belt of his   
do-gi coat as he entered the bathroom. "No matter how   
many times Ranma throws me, she will respect my   
dedication."  
  
He tossed the sweaty coat, and then the pants into the   
laundry basket. He didn't see the Chinese clothes already   
in it. "Then when she respects me, she'll have to look at   
me differently. She'll get to know what I'm really like.   
I'm likable."  
  
Without a stitch on, he went to the sliding door between   
the laundry room and the bathroom. "And if she doesn't?   
We're already betrothed. I'm never going to get a better   
shot at finding a girl who HAS to accept that I--"  
  
A strange pigtailed {Pigtailed?? But black haired} guy   
Kaneda's age was just stepping out of the tub.   
  
Caught off guard, they stared at each other.   
  
{That guy seems awfully interested in my dick. I don't   
know why. He looks like he's got a good sized one of his   
own. At least it's not hard. I can't help but think how   
STUPID it looks when I see that in the locker room.}  
  
Kaneda said, "Er, hello." {Maybe I SHOULD turn around and   
leave.} "This is my house. I live here. I'm Kaneda."   
Kaneda agonized, {He might think I was strange if I did   
leave! Guys sharing the same tub isn't supposed to be a   
big deal in Japan.}  
  
Finally the guy said something, "I, I was leavin'."  
  
Kaneda almost visibly relaxed. "Okay." Kaneda nodded and   
walked as casually as he could towards the bath. He tried   
to ignore the guy who was about to pass him, who was   
doing the same for him. But he wondered, {Mine IS thicker   
than his?}  
  
Testily, the gray-eyed guy told him, "I don't like guys   
checkin' me out at ANY time!" slapping a heavy wet hand   
on Kaneda's shoulder.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
In the family room, Soun Tendou was toasting a glass of   
beer with a broad man in Eastern-style/over-ears-loops   
glasses and a white do-gi with a black belt and a dew-rag   
on his head.   
  
Suddenly two loud, shocked screams broke out of the   
bathroom and into the rest of the house.  
  
The guest looked away from his drink and said, "That   
sounds like my son!"  
  
Soun thought, and said, "I don't recognize the girl's   
voice."  
  
The son cried, "I didn't know!! I didn't know you were at   
Juusenkyyy--Ow!! Stop hitting me! Hey! That hurts you   
know!!"  
  
The girl yelled, full of fury, "I won't let you tell   
anybody!!!"  
  
The son cried, "Oh, no!!" and ran for the exit.   
  
The girl yelled, "Come back here, and take it like a   
guy!!" and followed.   
  
The black haired pigtailed boy ran buff naked out into the   
unfamiliar house. "I won't take it as a guy, either!?!!"  
  
A longhaired brunet girl ran totally nude after him.   
"Aaarr!! Wait until I get my hands on you!!"  
  
Finding the middle hall, the son told his pursuer, "I'm   
not interested in that sort of thing!!"  
  
That got a roar from the girl as she sped down the garden   
hall, "Pervert!! You know that's not what I said!!"  
  
The son came to the foyer: Outside!?! Naked!!?   
Upstairs!?! Trapped!!? He continued his trip through it.   
"Pervert!!? you were the one lookin' at ME!!"  
  
Rounding the foyer, the brown-eyed girl yelled, "It was   
okay when I did it!!"  
  
Kasumi asked from the other side of the kitchen door, "Is   
it safe to look?"  
  
Leaning out of the kitchen door, Nabiki answered, "OH,   
my," as Ranma entered the middle hall. What a time to   
feel frustrated.  
  
Kasumi asked, "Do we know the girl?"  
  
Nabiki nodded, "I'm afraid we do."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
The black hairedboy ran into the living room, and leaped   
over the low table Soun and his father were sitting at.   
  
The two men spilled their drinks when they saw the nude   
young girl run in. The shorter black haired Japanese yelled at   
the boy, "Stop right there!! Do you know what it's like to   
have to run with these things!?!!" indicating her still   
bounce-and-bopping size B's.   
  
The pigtail boy yelled back, "Yeah!! I do! Not to mention   
feelin' everything ELSE that comes with the package!"  
  
The strange man barked at his son, "Boy!! This is not the   
time!"   
  
Nabiki came into the room, "What do you think you're   
doing!?!"   
  
The girl glared at her, "I was angry! When you're angry   
you don't stop to think to get dressed!"  
  
Nabiki tossed dish towels at the two emotionally immature   
teens, "That's the problem: You don't stop to think! Look   
at Daddy!"  
  
The girl looked away to the mustachioed man in the brown   
do-gi. She raised one towel and lowered the other over   
herself. "How long is he going to have that blank stare?"  
  
Nabiki took her by a bare arm, and pulled her towards the   
door out, "Until you return to normal."  
  
The girl bowed her head in shame under her long hair,   
"You're right. I shouldn't have let that jerk push my   
button."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
It was a few minutes later before Kaneda came into the   
family room. He was in his blue house slippers, gray   
slacks, and short sleeve white shirt. Other than a tux,   
they were his most 'presentable' clothes. And the only   
reason he had them was because they were his school   
uniform. {Muscle doesn't work on her. "Clean and   
academic" will at least buy me time to find out what   
Ranma considers cool.}  
  
The brother was in time to see Kasumi about to pour a   
glass of cold water on his dad.   
  
The stranger in his own do-gi asked her, "What are you   
doing?"  
  
Kasumi smiled sweetly, "This seems to be the quickest way   
to bring Father back when he gets this way."  
  
Kaneda sighed over what had just happened. He said to   
himself, "At least he doesn't cry about it."  
  
A second after the water splashed on him, Soun moved.   
"What?" he sounded as he'd been just momentarily   
distracted. Then, "What happened to our drinks?" noting   
the now empty glasses.   
  
The man in the dew rag asked, "You mean he doesn't   
remember while he's out?" eyeing the beer still left in   
the large bottle.  
  
Kasumi informed the guest, "He doesn't seem to. Dinner   
will be ready soon."  
  
Soun Tendou said, "That can wait. It is time for all of   
us to gather. Our guests have a very tragic story to   
tell."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
The guest was kneeling rather formally by himself on one   
side of the living room table. His back was to the open   
door that frame in night. The head of the Tendou house   
was kneeling nearer him than the rest of the family.   
Right now he was looking at his family.  
  
His son was kneeling at the side of the table nearest   
them. The two girls were kneeling on the other, side by   
side, Nabiki, still in her cutoffs and shirts, nearest   
the stranger.   
  
All that was missing was--   
  
In from the garden hall came that guy from the bathroom.   
This time he was dressed.   
  
But he was dressed in the girl's clothes! Kaneda slapped   
a hand on the table and got to his knees. His other hand   
was ready to attack, "What'd you do with Ranma!?!!" he   
demanded.   
  
The gray eye boy scorned, "YOU of all people haven't   
figured that out!?! How dumb are you!?"   
  
His father reprimanded, "You're a guest!" He stood up.  
  
Dampening his anger, he said to the rest of the family,   
"I'm, um, Ranma Saotome." And he closed his eyes. "Sorry   
about everything."  
  
BOOKG! Kaneda whacked his jaw against the tabletop when   
the feeling went out of his arms.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
All kneeling formally, now, Soun Tendou told his family,   
"I can explain everything." Gesturing, "This is my dear   
old friend...."  
  
The man in the white do-gi bowed, "Genma Saotome."   
Gesturing, "And this is my son."  
  
He said, "Ranma." He looked at them, wondering why they   
didn't seem to understand.  
  
Kaneda growled. He wanted Ranma to be a girl. {Where IS   
she?}  
  
Nabiki said, "This gets more interesting by the minute."   
There were two of them. Did something happen to mutate   
the genes of the fathers? (It would explain why they   
didn't have any irises, only pupils.) She was glad that   
she, at least, was normal.  
  
Kasumi asked, "Are you really her, the same girl we saw   
before?"  
  
The pigtailed boy answered, "I am."  
  
Mr. Saotome pushed at his glasses, "It's such a long   
story I don't know where to begin."  
  
He rose to his feet. "Well, then. Let's start with this."   
  
And he picked up Ranma by the front of his Chinese shirt   
and tossed the guy towards the garden's koi pond!  
  
Ranma hadn't been prepared. He screamed, unable to do   
anything in mid-flight.  
  
SPLASH!  
  
The black haired guy did not come up. But the redhead   
did. "What'd you do that for!!?!" the distinctly soprano   
yelled.  
  
Nabiki said, "Oh, my..." It's true.  
  
Kasumi blinked more than she had done all day, "Ranma's...  
a girl now."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
...After the long and tragic story, Soun Tendou bowed his   
head in sympathy. "The Legendary Ground of Accursed   
Springs. It's true horror has been shrouded in mystery,   
until now."  
  
Ranma couldn't take reliving the memories again any more,   
"What'd you mean true horror!!" Turning to, "This is all   
your fault, old man!! What's the idea of draggin' me to a   
place like that, anyway!?!"  
  
Genma rose up and picked the boy up again, "Ranma! You   
sound like a GIRL!"   
  
Yell! SPLASH!  
  
"Were you not prepared to lay down your life for the sake   
of the Art!!?!"  
  
The small redhead jumped out of the water, and ran back   
at him, "My life, yes! My manhood is another story!" She   
threw a bucket of pond water into his pop's face.  
  
The panda growled, "MWAAA!!"   
  
The large-busted girl growled back, "You just HAD to find   
that training ground, even though you couldn't speak a   
WORD of Chinese!!"  
  
The family watched the girl and beast have a two-handed-  
two-pawed arm wrestling match. Kaneda swallowed, {Strong   
girl.}   
  
Soun said, "How I suffer for you. I wish there was   
something I could do to help."   
  
Nabiki looked at Daddy, "Oh? I suppose the tea kettle   
just HAPPENS to be by you?"   
  
Soun looked at it on a cloth on the tatami/rush grass   
mat. "We do have company."  
  
Nabiki sighed and got up, "So WHERE'S the tea?"  
  
Picking up the kettle, she walked over to the two still   
engaged in their test of wills. She poured it first on   
the animal. The man from it cried, "That's TOO hot!"  
  
Nabiki quirked a satisfied smile, "I thought so. Just   
like Kaneda."  
  
But the human moved before she could use the water on   
her: "Hot water!" She raised a fist, "Not boiling!!"  
  
Soun Tendou was on his feet at last, sounding   
magnanimous, "Ha, ha! Your problem isn't so terrible,   
after all." He took an escort grip on her arm and turned   
her to, "Look, my oldest daughter Kasumi, she's 19; and   
my youngest daughter Nabiki, she's 17. Pick either one   
you want. She'll be your new fiancée."  
  
Soun Tendou's only son Kaneda, 16, blurted out, "What   
about me? She's half-girl."   
  
The little redhead barked, "Just because I'm a freak,   
doesn't mean I'm marryin' a freak!"  
  
It was Kaneda's turn to rise to his feet, "Who're you   
calling a freak!!?!"  
  
Ranma stamped a small, bare foot towards him, "You,   
freak! Haven't you gotten it yet!?!!" She jabbed a thumb   
at herself, "I ain't a girl! I'm all guy!" She stomped   
closer, "Cold water that makes me something I ain't!!"   
And closer, "Hot water turns me back into what I AM!"   
  
Her breasts were up near Kaneda's stomach, her small chin   
pointed up at him. "Even if I wanted somebody with the   
curse--which I DON'T--you aren't girl enough for me!"  
  
Kaneda was offended, "Of course I'm not really a girl."  
  
That did it, Ranma had had it: "Splash some hot water in   
your face, and wake up!! You got the SAME curse as I do,   
you idiot!!"  
  
It was finally said out loud. The ground underneath   
Kaneda was rocked.  
  
Kasumi said, "Oh, my, Father's out of it again," rising   
with a glass of cold water.  
  
Kaneda held out a hand to stop her passing him. He took   
the glass from her.  
  
Nabiki saw what he was going to do with the water. She   
looked at her entranced parental figure, "That is one   
major fallout shelter you're dug, Daddy."  
  
The redheaded boy splashed Ranma's father. The panda was   
back, this time not so belligerent. Kaneda tried to grasp   
the truth that, "He isn't really a panda. Hot water makes   
him what he was born to be."  
  
Nabiki offered the teakettle. Kaneda went by it as he   
headed down the outer hall. Kasumi asked, "Where are you   
going do, Kaneda?"  
  
In his daze, he answered, "I'm going to take the first   
hot bath I've had in years."  
  
The panda watched until the boy disappeared around the   
corner. It then hurried over to his motionless comrade.   
Lifting him up, he ran for the closest way out, out of   
the room, out of the house, out of the gate.  
  
Kasumi asked, "I'll serve dinner, now."  
  
Nabiki held up a hand, "Hold the dinner. There won't be   
time for that."  
  
Ranma said, "Yeah. If she takes it anything like I took   
it..."  
  
But then, she hadn't been living a lie all of his life.  
  
  
The End of this chapter 


	2. 02: Ranma's Girl Problem

Ranma & Kaneda  
By Ron Dow75  
From an idea by James M. Zema,  
Unauthorized, but allowed.  
  
02: Ranma's Girl Problem  
  
  
Kaneda dropped his do-gi pants in the laundry   
basket. He paused to look at the familiar door that   
had taunted him all of his life. Everybody else   
could take hot soaks in the furo/tub, but not him.   
He had to take cold showers. If he didn't, he would   
be changed into a girl the minute he touched hot   
water.  
  
But he was raised to be a guy, the man who would   
inherit the Tendou legacy and property. Every time   
he did not live up to his dad's expectations, Dad   
went weird. Every time his sister Nabiki discovered   
him as a girl, she would make comments that made him   
feel little. But worse, every time Kasumi found him   
as a girl, she would treat him as if he WERE a girl!   
  
By the time he was old enough to think there might   
be some benefits to his problem, he'd met his   
friends. Hiroshi and Daisuke made it clear what you   
were supposed to do with a girl's body. Meanwhile   
there were girls around him having a variety of   
female problems. His pubescent doubts and anxieties   
were multiplied. That's when he stopped taking hot   
baths altogether.  
  
Kaneda the heir to the Tendou School of Anything-  
Goes Martials Arts lost his nerve.  
  
But now the moment of truth had arrived. Hot water   
made him a girl because he really was....  
  
His headache went from dull to throbbing! He'd had   
it since the girl Ranma'd socked him and he whacked   
his head on the floor of the dojo. It was different   
from anything he'd felt before.   
  
Little did he suspect he then he was but the first   
of a number of people who would receive the   
"Juusenkyo Blow to the Soul".   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Nabiki, then the new girl knelt down at the living   
room table, and waited across from each other for   
the big explosion from the bathroom.   
  
Kasumi offered, "I'll go fill the kettle again and   
we can have tea."  
  
The little Ranma watch the older sister get the   
teakettle from where Nabiki'd left it, and leave for   
the kitchen. "Is she serious?"  
  
Nabiki said, "Try oblivious. Daddy doesn't want to   
deal with Kaneda's change, so Kasumi doesn't want   
to, either."   
  
Ranma got the creeps, "So, you mean Kaneda's been   
free to play her sick games all a her life?!"  
  
Big sister slapped her hand down on the table, "Try   
the other way around, Saotome! Whatever else Kaneda   
may be, he has family feeling. He knows it how   
upsets everybody and the neighbors when he changes."   
Then she leaned forward to level her eye at the   
strange girl making insinuations. "Kaneda does NOT   
become a girl out of choice." Nabiki realized she   
hadn't readjusted how SHE thought of her little   
'brother', yet.  
  
"H, hel, hello," a voice at the door said.  
  
Ranma looked, and said to the older sister, "Make   
that past tense."  
  
Standing in a blue terrycloth bathrobe was a 5'4"   
girl with long black hair. Beyond that Ranma was in   
no mood to judge.   
  
Nabiki looked, and commented, "You haven't changed a   
bit since the last time I teased you, Kane-chan."  
  
Kane-chan frowned, "Thanks for reminding of another   
reason I don't like having this body."  
  
Though remaining sympathetic, Nabiki couldn't resist   
saying, "Once you get used to being a girl, I can   
always tease you by turning you into a guy."  
  
Kane-chan came over to the table, "You don't tease   
Kasumi!"  
  
Nabiki, still smiling said, "I guess it's just more   
fun to kid your kid brother."  
  
It was Ranma's turn to level her eyes, " ' Sounds   
like you're jealous."  
  
Nabiki give her a bemused look, "Me? Jealous?"  
  
Kane-chan fell to her knees on the side between   
them, "Oh, great! If a girl who's been a girl all of   
her life thinks it's better to be a guy, why do I   
want to be a girl?"  
  
Nabiki said to her sibling, but putting an edge to   
it for Ranma, "I didn't say I didn't like being a   
girl. Look what's suggesting it!"  
  
Kane-chan bowed her head towards her breasts.   
"Someone who knows what it's like to be both."  
  
Ranma said, "You got that right! Bein' a girl   
sucks!"  
  
Kane-chan flinched at the unfortunate choice of   
word. Ranma didn't notice the implications, but,   
then, he didn't have friends like Hiroshi and   
Daisuke.  
  
Big sister said, "You're NOT helping, Saotome. You   
KNOW I don't just have Kaneda I can tease now."  
  
Ranma thumbed her fist towards herself, "Try it, and   
you'll wish you hadn't!"  
  
Nabiki said, "Is that a challenge?"  
  
Kane-chan cried, "Stop it!! Isn't there enough   
conflict going on inside me, without having to hear   
it outside!?!" She was fighting to keep from crying.   
She had sworn never to cry like... Dad.   
  
To Ranma it was just like a girl. She snorted. "I   
had expected more rage and furry at findin' out you   
weren't a guy."  
  
Kane-chan rested her forearms on the table, "I   
always knew I could change into a girl. I just   
didn't know I was a girl." She slumped over the   
table. She felt her breasts try to dangle within her   
robe. {Do girls get used to the feeling?}  
  
Kasumi appeared at the door, "I thought I heard   
company. The tea will only be a few minutes more.   
But why don't you invite the girl to dinner. We'll   
have more than enough, seeing as Father and his old   
friend seem to have decided to dine out together.   
They have SO much to catch up on."  
  
Ranma leaned her weight on an arm while she studied   
the oldest sister. "No reality check there." The to   
her, "Aren't you interested in WHO this girl is?   
That WOULD be the polite thing to ask."  
  
Kasumi started to fidget. "Well...yes. That WOULD be   
the proper amenity when meeting a new person..." She   
was beginning to perspire. "I try to be the proper   
hostess. I don't know where..."  
  
Her back to her motherly sister, Kane-chan could   
hear how uncomfortable she was. She was being forced   
to face something she had been trying to avoid all   
of her life, and it tore Kane-chan up inside, too.  
  
Nabiki hissed at Ranma, "That WASN'T a smart move,   
martial artist!"  
  
Ranma shot back at her, "It ain't gonna keep naggin'   
at her WHY there's a strange girl in her house that   
isn't going away?"  
  
Nabiki saw Ranma was, unfortunately, right. Kaneda   
the girl would not be going away as before. To learn   
to be a girl, he--she(!) had to remain a girl.   
  
She took a deep breath, and faced the sister still   
stuck in a dither, "Kasumi, this i...uh, Akane."  
  
Ranma rolled her big blue eyes. She couldn't come up   
with a more original name? A-Kane-d-A, really!  
  
Immediately, Kasumi was back to her normal self,   
"Akane! Such a nice name for a girl."  
  
Kane-chan took her head off the table to look at the   
one who liked to think she was the smart one. "   
"Akane"??" Her skin crawled. Kaneda was a shield   
that kept her from fully recognizing the femaleness   
threatening to overwhelm her.   
  
Nabiki said, "Trust me." She then continued for the   
benefit of Kasumi, "Akane Saotome."  
  
Ranma leaped to her feet, "What!?!"  
  
Kane-chan leaped to her feet, "I WAS thinking it   
would be Ranma TENDOU!" Obviously he WASN'T ready to   
admit which was the girl.  
  
Nabiki put her right arm on the table, and tried to   
stare the two down, "Akane is Ranma-kun's kissing   
cousin. She can marry HIM." SHE certainly didn't   
want him!   
  
Ranma-kun stomped her bare foot on the table, "I   
don't want to be ANYbody's fiancee!!"  
  
Kane-chan blinked at her sister. "Why would I want   
to marry a guy?"  
  
Nabiki turned to Kane-chan, "Symmetry. Ranma-chan   
can still be the fiancee of Kaneda."  
  
She added, "And everything would be legal. Almost."   
All they needed was a fake birth certificate.  
  
Ranma lifted the table up, "If I don't want a girl..."   
There was something about this guy-girl that got on   
his last nerve! He flipped the table behind her and   
strode to center stage. She DEMANDED their   
attention! "...I damned well WON'T marry guy! A real   
guy or not, I've got my pride: I'm a GUY!!"  
  
Startled, Kaneda looked at the girl martial artist.   
There was nothing like danger to concentrate the   
mind, {Ranma's not a girl. She's the guy I chased   
around the house...." Revelation! "That's it!!" she   
cried, leaping into her arms before Ranma had the   
chance to do anything else. "I have to be a girl to   
win over Ranma!"  
  
Ranma cried, "Let go of me!!" She was trying to   
shake the larger girl from her. Kane-chan had her   
mitts around the redhead's neck, and her legs were   
bent trapping her arm. "Get off!! I told you I ain't   
gettin' hooked up to a freak!!"  
  
Nabiki watched Ranma-chan spin them around the room.   
Ranma-chan would go into this contortion or that   
somersault trying to dislodge Kane-chan. "Well,   
well. Saotome has a weak point." When Ranma-chan got   
close enough, Nabiki casually tripped her with a   
hand.   
  
Ranma-chan fell; Kane-chan landed on her. Only Kane-  
chan cried, "Ah-ch, ch! Boobs hurt!"  
  
Ranma yelled, "And they don't feel too good when   
somebody else's land on them, either!"  
  
Kasumi was blushing, "That sort of thing might be   
alright for a man and his woman, but between TWO   
women?"  
  
Nabiki told her, "Akane wants Ranma to become a guy   
again."  
  
Kasumi nodded, "Oh! Then it would be alright!"  
  
Nabiki said, "See, Ranma? You have to become a guy   
when Akane acts this way. If you don't, you will   
cause a scandal."  
  
Furious now, Ranma looked at the girl on top of her.   
"The Code don't say nothing about a GIRL not beatin'   
up a girl!!"   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Nabiki ran from the shouting and clashing, and   
banging in the family room. She went straight into   
the kitchen and to the kettle on the stovetop. She   
tapped it with her fingernails as a test. "A good   
thing there was already some hot water in it!" she   
said, rushing back to the rescue.  
  
She found Rana-chan's arms crawling their way out   
from under the table, and Kane-chan struggling lift   
the armoire. She commented, "Don't be ridiculous.   
You couldn't even move that when you were a guy."  
  
Kane-chan made one last attempt, muttering something   
about "Shinobu the Might Desk-throwing Girl".  
  
Nabiki said, "Try Ryuunosuke." Would Kane-chan have   
any more luck than that martial arts girl did in   
overcoming her guy-conditioning?  
  
She looked at Ranma-chan's head and shoulders come   
out in the open. Of course, Ryuunosuke ALSO married   
a cross-dressing guy.  
  
A douse of hot water, and Ranma had black hair.  
  
Ranma-kun's fist hit the floor in further   
frustration, "Now, I can't do anything to her!" He   
pushed the table away as he moved his legs free.   
"Why!?! Why couldn't I fight her!? A girl can fight   
a girl!?!"  
  
Nabiki said, "Well, there's your answer. To fight a   
girl, you have to accept that you are a girl, too."   
Luckily, Kaneda didn't have Ranma's rigid standard   
of manliness. She would know.  
  
Ranma-kun tried to rise to his feet, "You don't   
think I'm a girl when I get wet!?!" His fingers   
touched the floor to steady himself.  
  
Kane-chan came over, "Oh, she's a girl!"  
  
Ranma told her, "He: HE!"  
  
Nabiki turned a scornful eye to her younger sibling,   
"Only physically." Her gaze returned to Ranma-kun,   
"Until there's a break-through in his mental block,   
you should be safe. As long as you remain a girl."  
  
Kane-chan said, "There's a motivation to stay cool."  
  
Ranma felt solid enough to stand. "I thought you're   
SUPPOSED to be a martial art!?! What were you doing   
throwing things at me, and hitting me with a bamboo   
sword!?!!"   
  
Kane-chan told him, "When I'm a girl, I can use girl   
tactics: Anything-Goes!"  
  
Ranma-kun shouted, "Anything-Goes MARTIAL Arts!   
Martial!!"  
  
Nabiki almost smiled. She was surprised that Kane-  
chan had figured it out. The best way to give Ranma   
his break-through was to use martial arts on him.   
Ranma's martial arts training would logically   
trigger martial arts responses, eventually. In a   
fair fight, Kane-chan didn't stand hardly a chance   
against a guy who'd spent all of his life doing   
little else BUT train.   
  
But by sticking with things girls did, or at least   
things her idiot brother (and hopefully Ranma-kun,   
too) THOUGHT girls did, she put Ranma at a severe   
disadvantage. His code against fighting girls had   
been too well drilled into him.   
  
And, Nabiki suspected, other techniques, as well,   
had him conditioned to save his potency for battle.   
Ranma wasn't just a virgin: He was incapable of   
responding like a normal man.  
  
So much for Nabiki's own frustrations.   
  
Nabiki looked at her sibling. Akane may have a   
chance to find the key. But Kaneda? She shook her   
head. Not unless inside Ranma's girl form there was   
a normal girl that could be released.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Ranma-kun stormed out of the living room, headed for   
the upstairs.  
  
Kasumi called out, "Good night! Sleep well!"  
  
Kane-chan dropped to the floor and sat like a guy,   
legs apart. "I'm so confused. I like her, but then   
she does something that sets me off."  
  
Nabiki said, "It only means you have feelings for   
her. The question is do you have them for HIM, the   
guy?"  
  
Kane-chan was visibly repulsed, "Like a guy--Like   
THAT!?"  
  
Standing by her, Nabiki put her hands on her knees,   
"But you're a GIRL. Remember the scandal factor.   
Remember how important a reputation is to a martial   
artist."  
  
Kasumi went, "Oh, My!" as if to underline her point.  
  
Kane-chan became serious. "...Reputation is all a   
school of martial arts has." They, like Ranma, had   
been kept in the dark about the Anything-Goes   
School's true reputation. (Luckily just vague rumors   
after all these years.) That more than anything else   
accounted for the number of students enrolled at the   
dojo. It was also why honor was so important to both   
families.  
  
Kasumi tried to smile, "I'm glad to see the young   
lady does have modesty. Today's episode was an   
aberration."   
  
(Nabiki said, "I doubt that.")  
  
Kasumi smiled when she thought she'd found an   
explanation, "Akane was just glad to see her cousin   
after he'd returned from China!" Nabiki wondered how   
creative Big Sister would be able to be.   
  
Kane-chan blinked. "She can accept that Ranma can   
change, but not me?"  
  
Nabiki told her, "Ranma's not family." She smiled,   
"Yet."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kasumi announced, "Dinner's ready."  
  
Kane-chan frowned, "I'm not in the mood." Ignoring   
the gurgling in her stomach, she got up, "I'm going   
to bed."  
  
Kasumi said, "Oh, my, now where are we going to put   
you? The Saotomes are in the guest room."  
  
Kane-chan got exasperated, and looked towards the   
ceiling, "I'm going where I ALWAYS go after I   
disappear out of sight, out of mind."  
  
Nabiki waved a finger, "Unh, unh, uhn! You're not   
that mysterious girl any more. You have an identity.   
You're Akane Saotome. Kasumi isn't going to be   
forgetting about you now." She smiled, "Are you,   
Kasumi?"  
  
Kasumi smiled sweetly for the guest, "Of course not!   
I could never forget the fiancée of man who's the   
girl my brother's engaged to."  
  
It took a moment for Kane-chan to understand what   
Kasumi had said, "Can you repeat that again? That   
sounds just too weird."  
  
Nabiki said, "That's what happens when you have   
people that change." She walked towards her.  
  
Kane-chan suggested, "Wouldn't it be simpler on you,   
Kasumi, to think of Ranma as being two people, too?"  
  
Nabiki gently took her by the shoulders and directed   
her out, "Let's not go there. Then Kasumi would have   
to find a place for Ranma-chan to stay."  
  
Kane-chan smiled, "She could stay with me."  
  
Nabiki shook her head, "Not after that little   
display just now." Pushing Kane-chan along towards   
the upstairs, she said to her older sister, "Kane-  
chan will stay with me, Kasumi. She has a sleeping   
bag. Don't you?"  
  
Kane-chan nodded. "If I can find it."  
  
Nabiki made a motion towards the back of Kane-chan's   
head. "It's times like this I wish I were more   
physical."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
The clock said it was 10:39 pm. Kane-chan had STILL   
not gotten to sleep. And despite how tired she was   
it was looking like she wouldn't get any sleep. "At   
least not until I get out of this body. It's too   
lumpy! I can't get comfortable with hips, ass and   
boobs!" Her stomach's growl added another argument   
for getting up.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
She was in Kaneda's now oversized 'Star' pajamas.   
They were blue with yellow crossing lines and   
shorter diagonal ones. Over its one breast pocket it   
had a small tiger's head.   
  
She walked with her thighs getting closer together.   
As she passed the lav, she wondered how she'd   
managed to go this long without going in there.  
  
Inside she realized she would have to go as a girl.   
She had memories of a few experiments at that long   
ago, and Hiroshi and Daisuke's pictures of girls   
doing it for the camera. But there was a sink with   
hot water in the lav.   
  
By the time the water had run long enough to raise a   
steam, Kane-chan could no longer endure the wait.  
  
It was as bad as she thought it would be. She missed   
his manhood.  
  
He wasn't ready to think of himself as a girl!  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kaneda went to the kitchen. His stomach was loud   
enough to echo in the inner hallway, now.   
  
He turned on the light. The guy Ranma was there!  
  
Kaneda's underdeveloped martial arts' sense warned   
him of the danger too late.   
  
Ranma got up, "I see that you're finally a guy."  
  
Kaneda needed an idea: "Shh! You'll wake everybody   
up! You ARE a guest in my house!"  
  
Ranma glared, growled, and sat back down.  
  
Kaneda was about to make his escape, but his stomach   
made its own growling noises.   
  
He did his best to ignore the gaze burning into the   
back of his head. He had heard legends about those   
kinds of attacks.  
  
Luckily, Ranma hadn't learned how to do that yet.  
  
After taking out the salad bowl to look behind it,   
Kaneda found a couple of eggs and a bowl of red bean   
rice. Like most Japanese, Kasumi shopped regularly,   
and brought home what she could carry. There was   
little else in the fridge he felt like eating. Of   
course, it could've just been his instincts deciding   
for him.   
  
Kaneda looked over at Ranma, "Did you eat ALL of the   
abalone?!"  
  
Ranma said, "There's just this one left," picking it   
up. He bent his head back, and opened his mouth.  
  
Distracted by the image, he put the eggs and soup in   
the salad bowl. Annoyed, Kaneda asked, "Do you want   
some seaweed to go with that?"   
  
Ranma said, "Sure! You got some?"  
  
Frowning deeper, now, Kaneda said, "You know the   
abalone and kombu seaweed are supposed to be brought   
by the GROOM?"   
  
Ranma nearly choked.  
  
Kaneda came over, "Are you okay? Hey, I'm sorry.   
You're the guest." {What am I now, a guy or a girl?}  
  
Ranma recovered by saying, "I'm also the man here,"   
referring to the custom of men being served first.  
  
Though it galled him, which, no doubt, was why   
Ranma'd said it. But Kaneda decided not to argue.   
Kaneda sat down with what was left him.  
  
Ranma eyed the bowl. "You eat salad?"  
  
Kaneda noticed what he'd done. Ranma already thought   
he was an idiot. He needed a cover-up, "Sure! Do you   
think only girls eat salads?" Of course, there WERE   
two girls in the house. Kaneda wasn't ready to be   
the third. "Greens are good for your body. You sure   
know that as a martial artist."  
  
Ranma told him, "Produce are bulky when you're   
travelin'. Rice-and-protein is the essential." Then   
he added, "Oh, and some cabbage against scurvy."  
  
Kaneda poked his fork around in the mess, "No   
cabbage in here."  
  
The reasonably well-fed Ranma smelled, then looked   
what the fork had come up with. "Is that red bean   
rice. You DO know that's definitive girl food?"   
Ranma knew that much about the Japanese custom, but   
he didn't know it was served to celebrate a girl's   
first period.  
  
Kaneda got red, embarrassed and angry. He DID know   
about it being used to acknowledge that the   
threshold into womanhood had been crossed. He didn't   
remember, though, Kasumi had bought three cans of   
red beans seven years ago. This was the last one.  
  
The best defense is an offense, "And I suppose just   
because I like eggs, that ALSO makes me a girl?"  
  
Ranma was about to make a comment, but was stopped   
by a strange feeling. Food was another of Ranma's   
weak points, not quality, quantity. He liked eating.   
An association had been formed between food, Kaneda   
and girl.   
  
The guy he saw was just the cursed form. Kaneda was   
really a girl. Kaneda had fought like a girl. And   
now Kaneda ate like a girl. Ranma wasn't able to   
figure why he was feeling the way he was, but he did   
feel the snare closing in around him.   
  
Ranma escaped back upstairs.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
The early spring morning had fog on the town.   
Despite a few hours lost sleep, Kaneda was out on   
his jog. He would do a left/right combination punch,   
sometimes bending to get in an uppercut, and   
occasionally he would throw in a side kick. Working   
out always made him feel better. He was able to turn   
off other thoughts, and worries and get into the   
zone of his movements.   
  
By the time he entered the fortress-like gate of the   
Tendou compound he was so into his comfortable   
familiar routine he'd forgotten that the body he was   
using was the wrong one.  
  
BERNGZZ!, "HHAA!", "Ranma!" 


	3. 03: School is No Place for Challenges

Ranma & Kaneda  
By Ron Dow75  
From an idea by James M. Zema,  
Unauthorized, but allowed.  
  
[Note: If the original body has certain recessive traits,   
the curse makes them dominant in the second. Ranma-chan's   
red hair comes from Ranma's mother. But if Ranma-chan were   
strictly his true female version, she would have black hair and  
gray eyes. Then why the changes? Kuno knows some of the   
lore.]  
  
[Note: When I can, I've replaced the nameless bit players   
with Hiroshi, Daisuke, Sayuri and Yuka.]  
  
03: School is No Place for Challenges  
  
  
Kaneda asked, "Where do you think you're going?" He was   
in his school uniform and wet.  
  
Ranma-chan told him, "I ain't gonna school like this."   
She was in her Chinese clothes and wet.  
  
Kaneda said, "We, uh, can get some hot water from Dr.   
Tofu!"  
  
The other redhead stopped to grumble, but turned around   
to follow.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
The local clinic had signs outside that advertised   
"Acupressure, Acupuncture, Moxibustion". Kaneda informed   
the girl who was barely listening, "Dr. Tofu also knows   
several other techniques, but these are what most people   
want. He's also a trained GP."  
  
Ranma-chan barely took the gloomy look off her face,   
"We'll see. I've run into my share of quacks in my   
travels."  
  
Kaneda went inside and called, "Hello! Hello! Anybody   
here?!"  
  
Ranma-chan said, "Oh, boy. Now I'm gonna be late.  
  
He went into the infirmary, "Wait here. I'll get you the   
hot water."  
  
Ranma-chan stayed at the doorway, "That's okay. Don't   
bother!"   
  
Kaneda said, "You don't want to go to school as a girl."  
  
Ranma said, "I thought you wanted me to." When he didn't   
answer, she sighed, "Oh, boy! What a way to start things   
out. Now I'm going to be late."  
  
Suddenly she felt something lifeless and bony on her   
shoulder.   
  
She screamed like a girl and jumped!   
  
Her hands found the top of the open door and held on. Her   
slippers were as high up off the floor as she could get   
them without going into contortions.   
  
A totally white, totally bony figure without skin or hair   
said in a high voice, "Pardon me!"  
  
"Hm, hm, hm!" the tall man in glasses and a black do-gi   
laughed. "Hi, don't afraid! This is my skeleton, Beti.   
Lovely complexion, don't you think?"  
  
Even when it she realized it was just a Halloween   
perversion of a Bunraku puppet show Ranma the great   
martial artist had not gotten over his fright.  
  
Kaneda said, "How cute! Just like a girl."  
  
Ranma tired to jump down and challenge that slur...but her   
fingers wouldn't let go of the door.  
  
Kaneda gave a respectable bow, "Dr. Tofu, good morning to   
you."  
  
The doctor returned the bow, though not as low, "Good   
morning to you."  
  
Ranma managed to pry herself off the door, and land with   
some dignity on the floor.  
  
But they weren't paying her any attention. Dr. Tofu said,   
"You haven't been by lately. Any new 'injuries'?"   
  
Kaneda answered, "No. I've been very careful. I want to   
thank you for you helping me, again."  
  
The man smiled, "I am your family physician. I'm here to   
do anything I to help a patient."  
  
Ranma looked at the two. She became suspicious. It   
sounded like they were talking in code.  
  
Kaneda said, "Then you won't mind if I borrow 'it'?" He   
glanced over at Ranma-chan. "I have somebody living with   
me that has the same problem."  
  
She was about to protest on two counts. But why let a   
strange know any more than he did? When the man looked at   
her, she tried to keep from reddening any more.   
  
Dr. Tofu smiled like a doctor now for her, "Of course,   
you may borrow it, Kaneda."  
  
Then from the reception area, they heard another patient   
come in. "Dr. Tofu? Could you help me?! My back has gone   
out again! I was lucky to make it this far!"  
  
When the good doctor left the infirmary, Kaneda hurried   
to the sink to get the water. He gotten "it" while Ranma-  
chan was on the door. It was in his slacks pocket.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
The two teen guys had to hurry if they were going to make   
it to school. While Kaneda ran along the narrow street,   
Ranma was up running on the cement privacy walls. Despite   
his speed he wasn't winded, "So that guy studies martial   
arts?"  
  
Though a religious jogger, Kaneda was winded, "Hunh?   
How could you tell?"  
  
Ranma the fighter analyzed what he remembered, "I can   
tell. Sneakin' up on me that way. I didn't even hear him   
comin'.  
  
Kaneda said, "It's true. He's very good. He's a really   
strong martial artist. He certainly doesn't look it, does   
he?"  
  
Kaneda had his own memories of the doctor, "Ever since I   
was little, whenever something was wrong HE'D always make   
it better."  
  
Ranma jumped down to run beside Kaneda. "Hey, wait a   
minute. ' Sounds to me you might like this guy in a way   
GUYS aren't supposed to like other guys." It was both a   
tweak and a hope. If he could get Kaneda's girl-half   
interested in somebody else, he'd be rid of THAT problem.  
  
Kaneda face and mood darkened. "I don't like guys, I HATE   
guys! Hate guys!!" She looked at the school gate at the   
end of the corridor that was the street. "And I'll SHOW   
you how much I hate guys! --Look!!"  
  
Ranma looked and saw a horde of fit-looking teen guys   
dressed in just about every imaginable sports club a   
school could have charging out from the grounds in their   
direction. All had their own battle   
cry.  
  
Ranma said, "Wha the--"  
  
Splish!   
  
Too late, Ranma-chan noticed "it". Kaneda had pointed an   
air-powered water gun at her at point blank range.   
  
Kaneda had timed this so he could pick Ranma-chan up,   
carry her for a few paces, and toss her for the high   
concrete wall around the school before she or anybody   
else could fight him.  
  
Ranma-chan landed feet first on top of the wall like a   
cat, and turned to yell, "Hey! What'd you do that..." Her   
voice trailed off when she Kaneda dodge a boxer and send   
his gloved punch at the panda. The panda wasn't   
prepared; it was still dealing with surprised attack of   
the fencer with two swords Kaneda had sent it.   
  
Kaneda quickly had the fencer, and boxer out on the   
panda. Spilled hot water and an empty teakettle were on   
the ground, too.   
  
Kaneda then leaped over the gate's threshold and, his   
longhair flying, single-handedly took on five tennis   
players, three rugby players, a hockey player, a   
wrestler, two martial artist, two baseball batters, one   
Greco-Roman and one sumo wrestler, two American football   
players, and a half-a-dozen others whose uniforms Ranma   
didn't recognize.  
  
Ranma despite herself she had crouched down on the wall   
and watched. "He's something else. I didn't give him   
enough credit for knowing how to fight. But what's it all   
about??"  
  
Nabiki called out from window seat she had on the second   
floor, "Ranma! Don't interfere, this is Kaneda's fight."  
  
By force of training Ranma had to study everybody's moves   
and techniques. Anyone of them could be an opponent in   
the future. Kaneda had definitely shown himself to be   
one. ...Still, so many against one? He called back at   
Nabiki, "Yeah, but-"  
  
Nabiki assured him, "It's OK! He knows what he's doing.   
This happens EVERY morning!"  
  
Ranma looked at Kaneda with even more respect. Well,   
maybe not respect. The guy was showing off as he was   
beating up the 24 guys. He was putting in moves and   
techniques he didn't need to. They were a waste of time   
and effort.   
  
Finally, everybody but Kaneda was laid low and   
motionless. The only sounds that could be heard were the   
cars in the background and Kaneda's panting. But instead   
of using his breathing exercises to replenish his energy,   
he wasted his breath by saying, "You'd think they   
would've all learned by now." Kaneda HAD been showing   
off. But Ranma hadn't been a girl long enough to see why   
he'd been doing it. The martial artist thought the "Heir   
to the Tendou Dojo" just wanted to prove to Ranma he did   
know how to fight.  
  
Suddenly something came flying at Kaneda while he wasn't   
looking.  
  
But he caught it: It was a metal gauntlet a European armored   
knight once wore. Kaneda raised his eyes and groaned, "Too   
much French food."  
  
As the thunder of a storm rolled in, a distinctly male   
voice came out from behind the nearby tree. "What earthly   
matters not when honor withers on vines untested by   
night."  
  
Ranma-chan wondered if that haiku was meant to mean   
anything.   
  
The orator was dressed in a kendo-gi and holding his   
bokken/wooden sword down in one hand, "These...Weaklings!   
Such a boorish lot, truly. They fought for the privilege   
of being recognized as this school's top athlete ...if they   
could manage to defeat you, that is. What fools these   
mortals be."  
  
Kaneda told the other, slightly taller boy, "Oh, Kuno, do   
we HAVE to go through this again?" He backed up towards   
the wall Ranma-chan was staring from.  
  
Kuno readied his weapon, "Always! Though their quest was   
sparked by my own, my challenge is of a more noble nature   
than the rabble's." He approached Kaneda as a samurai   
stalks his prey, both hands on the sword, now. "I seek to   
eliminate the greatest lecher on the face of this   
unfortunate orb."  
  
Ranma-chan jumped down beside the red haired boy,   
"Lecher? I KNEW you were a pervert!"   
  
Kaneda told her, "Wait until you get to know Kuno before   
you judge me."  
  
Kuno blinked at the pigtailed girl, "Fair Damsel! I would   
advice you steer wide berth of this...debaucher of women!"  
  
Ranma-chan looked at Kaneda, "I've been too easy on you.   
Pervert doesn't even begin to cover what you are. No wonder   
you wanted me this way."  
  
Kaneda grew angry enough to ignore Kuno, "It's not LIKE   
that!! I'm NOT! I've never been! I only--"   
  
Kuno gave his battle cry, "You force her to cross-  
dress!!?!"   
  
Reflexively, and because her keenly trained senses told   
her how close it was going to be, Ranma stepped in front   
of Kaneda. The pervert hadn't yet deserved an attack   
while he was worn and distracted. She stopped Kuno's   
bokken just in time: Trapping it along its sides between   
her palms.  
  
Kuno was stunned. "That's not is how it is meant to   
be... The whole order of the world is turned upside down: By   
a, a FEMALE, this time..."   
  
Kaneda cried, "Now, look what you've done!"  
  
Ranma-chan said, "Geez! If it's going to upset you guys   
that much." And she let go.  
  
Kuno had gone from pushing to pulling to free his sword.  
  
The sword came back and whacked him on the head. Hard.   
  
Kuno refused to fall.   
  
Kaneda told Ranma-chan, "Kuno's hardheaded. We won't get   
to the front doors before he's after us."  
  
Ranma looked around for an idea. She got it, "He likes   
trees, does he?" For somebody who fought a giant panda,   
picking up the teenage boy wasn't too much of an effort.   
  
Kaneda saw where she was dragging Kuno, and picked up by   
his ankles.   
  
By the time Kuno had stirred, he'd been tossed up over a   
limb of the tree he'd been hiding behind.  
  
Kaneda looked up at the giant clock on the school's   
tower. "We're already late!" And he picked Ranma-chan up   
in his arms and carried her towards the threshold of her   
new school.  
  
Ranma-chan cried, hitting at him with her little fists,   
"Let me go, you womanizer! I ain't gonna school like   
this!!"  
  
The blows hurt, but not enough to make Kaneda let her go,   
not when he was so close to getting her just where he   
wanted her. "Remember, Ranma, I'm really a girl! Your   
Code doesn't let you beat up girls!"  
  
Ranma reared back her head, and bellowed, "What about   
YOUR Code!!?!"  
  
Kaneda's twisted logic was, "But YOU'RE not a girl,   
right?!"  
  
WHONG! Kuno had fallen out of the tree just then. A   
second person joined Kaneda in Ranma's entourage.  
  
The thunder roared, and the lightning flashed: *KRAKKA!*   
RRRRMMMM!  
  
Looking at the scene upside down on his throbbing head,   
he said, "That infamous lecher Kaneda has stolen away the   
fiery maiden! It is the Rape of the Sabine Women all over   
again! The distressed damsel needs rescuing!" He finally   
toppled over, and rolled--until he was sitting up, his hand   
reaching to his sword. "It looks again as if only the one   
true samurai around, Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder   
of Furinkan High, has the fortitude to take on and punish   
the moral degenerate Kaneda Tendou!"   
  
Nabiki rested her chin in her hand as she gazed down at   
the captain of the school's kendo club. "I think zealots   
are far more dangerous than perverts."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Inside Room 1-F, the middle-aged teacher read from the   
form he was given and announced to the class, "It seems   
we have a new student here at Furinkan High. Her name is   
Ranma Saotome...an unusual name for a girl. She's just   
returned from China. So let's all give her a warm nihao   
welcome."  
  
Hiroshi and Daisuke led the stirs among the boys; Sayuri   
and Yuka led grumbles from the girls.  
  
The teacher added, "However, that does not excuse the   
fact that she and Kaneda Tendou were late. So go stand in   
the hall."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
They stood in silence for a few minutes, holding their   
buckets of water, and looking out the third floor window.   
The storm had left as quickly as it had come. The sun was   
bright.  
  
Ranma-chan couldn't remain quiet. "This is all your   
fault."  
  
Kaneda said, "Not entirely. Nabiki has favors out all   
over school. When she saw that you came as a girl, she   
must have been prepared to call one in and had them   
change your sex on the records."  
  
Ranma grumbled, low and menacing, "It's a conspiracy. I   
bet it started before I got to China."  
  
Kaneda cleared his throat, and ventured, "Look, Ranma,   
I'm not really a pervert. Kuno just thinks so because--"  
  
Ranma snapped, quietly, "I don't care what HE thinks you   
are. I KNOW you're a pervert. What I WANNA know is--what   
were you doin' shooting me like that!"  
  
Kaneda said, "Shoot you!? It was just a high-powered   
water gun."  
  
It was Ranma's turn to, "SHH! Keep it quiet. And I KNOW   
it was a water gun: That's why I'm a girl."  
  
Kaneda said, "You know Dr. Tofu's a martial artist." He   
looked towards the windows. "Well, he's also been my   
coach. He really doesn't have the time to be my sensei,   
but he does give me help. Without him, I wouldn't be   
nearly the martial artist I am today."  
  
Ranma said, "Stop the cello music, and tell me about that   
"it" of yours."  
  
Kaneda glanced around then looked over his shoulder.   
There was no one near the windows that looked into the   
classroom. He looked back, and down into the bucket. "He   
IS my doctor. He knows about my...problem. He shoots the   
gun at me so I can practice getting out of the way of   
water."  
  
Ranma almost bought it. "But as long as you WANNA be a   
guy, you don't HAFTA keep away from cold water."  
  
Kaneda looked into his bucket, "You haven't had the   
problem long enough, I guess. I'm always getting splashed   
with water for no good reason: Out of nowhere, when I   
least expect it. True it's usually cold and doesn't   
change me, but it does get annoying." He held up the   
bucket, careful to keep it away from him, "I don't know   
how, I don't know when, but I'm willing to bet with   
Nabiki that I get splashed with this water."  
  
Ranma still hated him for making everybody at this school   
think she was a girl, but at least she saw that point.   
Ever since she started having her water problem, it was   
hard staying dry.   
  
Kaneda said, "Now, I'm going to tell you why Kuno's after   
me."  
  
Ranma turned her head away, and hummed  
  
Kaneda continued anyway, "At the beginning of the   
semester, Kuno made this stupid speech..."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
At "The Voice of Youth" Public Speaking Contest, Kuno   
slammed his palm down on the podium to demand the   
attention of the audience. "The Vengeance of Heaven is   
the duty of the samurai! Thus it has been through time   
immemorial in this, the Most Noble of Lands, Our Japan.   
  
"...Am I making myself absolutely clear!?"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Kaneda fell silent. His face hidden behind his long hair.  
  
Ranma-chan was left to pretend she hadn't heard what she   
didn't understand.  
  
Finally, she had to say, "So!?!! What does that hafta do   
with anything!?!"  
  
Kaneda turned to Ranma, "You're a martial artist. You   
know how they were developed by Buddhist monks and taught   
to anybody willing to train. The idea challenged the idea   
of a warrior class."  
  
Ranma nodded, "And martial arts were highly developed in   
Okinawa, where the samurai forbid the peasants to use any   
weapon."  
  
Kaneda said, "There has been an ages old contest between   
certain samurai and what we represent. Of all the   
students here at Furinkan, I am the only one whose family   
has a dojo."  
  
Kaneda bowed his head, "...And I was the next one scheduled   
to speak..."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
As Kaneda walked towards the podium, Kuno was walking   
back to his seat. He cried, "Be warned, varlet!" and   
slashed down with his sword.  
  
Kameda stopped it between his bare hands.   
  
...There, on stage, in front of the assembled school. Soon   
the whole town would know...and further.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kaneda asked, "Have you ever seen or read "Urusei   
Yatsura"? Rumiko Takahashi's story about Lum, the green-  
haired alien girl with powers?"  
  
The red-haired Ranma-chan said, "No. I've heard of it.   
Pop's cheap. If I read any manga, it's borrowed. And I   
never had a TV what with our travelin' for ten years. And   
just about the only movies Pop'll let me see has martial   
arts in it."  
  
Kaneda said, "Well, in it there's this rich samurai,   
Shutaro Mendou. His sworn enemy, Ataru Moroboshi, is   
always stopping him from killing him with a real sword."  
  
Ranma-chan 'guessed', "With his bare hands"."  
  
Kaneda nodded, "And feet, and just about every other   
way." Ranma looked down at her very loose slippers. She   
remembered moves like that in one or two martial arts movies.   
She'd never yet let herself be in a position where she had to   
use the technique herself.  
  
Kaneda said, "Well, the Lum Fan Club noticed the   
similarity in technique. But to Kuno that made me   
immediately like Moroboshi in EVERY way. And he was the   
biggest lecher in the Galaxy."  
  
Ranma-chan blinked at him with her big blue eyes. "You're   
kidding."  
  
Kaneda said, "I wish I were. But Kuno doesn't kid. He's   
insane, but he doesn't kid."   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
In Room 2-E, Kuno was dressed in the same school uniform   
as Kaneda. The sempai/upperclassman cried, "Fiancee!!?   
She's, his, fiancée!?!!"   
  
Sitting next to him, Nabiki Tendou said, "Unh, hunh, our   
daddies decided since before they were born the son would   
marry a daughter of the two families. And Ranma's an only   
child."  
  
Kuno raised his fists in fury, "Mm-Vah!! Not KANEDA!!" --   
he slammed both hands down on his desk.   
  
The teacher threw a piece of chalk hard enough that it   
snapped the teen's head back as it broke against it. It   
did not help the headache that went down to his heart.   
"Kuno! Go stand in the hall!"  
  
Nabiki was looking away and innocent. She hoped her plan   
would do something to help get Kuno off of Kaneda's back.   
But she hadn't had the chance to get to the part where   
Kaneda had 'decided to stop being a lecher and settle   
down'.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kaneda was still looking glum. "Sometimes I think Kuno   
would be different if he had something to take his mind   
off of the History, Antiques and Code of the Samurai. A   
girl, maybe."  
  
Ranma-chan looked at guy standing beside her, and   
remembered he was a she, "You mean a guy who looks like   
that, doesn't have a girlfriend?"   
  
Kaneda said, "Handsome, rich, cultured, connected...the   
list goes on. But I don't think he's ever even been on a   
date."  
  
That gave Ranma-chan another chance, " "A list", hunh? Do   
anything on the list ever make you wish you were a--"  
  
Splash!  
  
Suddenly Ranma-chan was damp on one side. But it was   
Kaneda that was wet. He held up the even fuller bucket he   
was holding, "Another bet I would've lost to Nabiki."  
  
Kuno was back in his black-under-blue kendo-gi, and in   
the stance of just having tossed water from his bucket.   
His weapon of choice, the bokken, was slung over his   
back. "Never Kaneda Tendou!"  
  
Kaneda groaned, "Not again, Kuno."  
  
Kuno continued in a serious rumble, "I shall never accept   
your engagement to Ranma, nor any other fair flower! I   
Tatewaki Kuno shall never allow you to prey upon the   
innocent!"  
  
Ranma tossed her bucket straight at the samurai-kid,   
"Hey, you jerk! I ain't--"  
  
Kuno sliced through both bucket and water with his wooden   
sword.   
  
And the windows of the classroom slid open. Their   
classmates squeezed their bodies out, boys on one side,   
girls on the other: "Kaneda has a girl!?!"/ "His dad had   
to pick her, I'll bet!"/ "Jealous? Look at her!"/ "She looks   
like she'd rather be a guy."/ "What better girl for   
Kaneda!"/ "Be careful what you say around her."/ "Yeah!   
She's a martial artist, too!"/ "Don't listen to those idiots,   
Ranma."/ "Right, we'll help you fit in with us girls."/ "I know   
just what your complexion needs!"/ "Oo, red hair! Do you   
dye it?"/ "Why didn't they give you a school dress?"/   
"Yeah! I want to see her legs!"/ "I want to see her panties!"...  
  
Ranma-chan screamed, "That does it!!" And she issued her   
challenge to Kuno, "I ain't interested in ANY jerk. I may   
not be able to beat up Kaneda, but I ain't got no problem   
doin' it to you!"  
  
Kuno stood there confused. "What??"  
  
Ranma-chan walked past him. "This is no place for a   
fight, Kuno. If you want to fight, follow me."  
  
Kuno's throbbing head and heart began to pound, "She   
would date with me! She has issued a challenge in the   
manner of the Valkyrie! Then, when I am fallen in   
battle, she will sweep me up to Valhalla: Paradise of   
Heroes!"  
  
(It was Kaneda's turn to be confused, "Japanese folklore   
aren't enough for him? He has to use Western ones, too?")   
  
Ranma-chan yelled back at Kuno, "I don't know what you're   
talkin' about! I ain't a Valkyries: I'm Ranma Saotome of   
the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts! Now, are you   
gonna fight me, or not!?!"  
  
The already smitten Kuno answered, "That I shall, My   
Brunhilde!"  
  
(Hiroshi said, "I always thought Brunhilde was more   
zaftig than that."  
  
Daisuke said, "I'd rather my battle maidens be petit,   
anyway.")  
  
Suddenly Kaneda realized, "Wait, Ranma!!" He began to run   
after them, "Ranma! Beat Kuno up all you want--But DON'T   
win!!"  
  
From down the hall Ranma called back, "Ranma Saotome   
never loses!"  
  
Kaneda called, "Fine! Just don't win!!" But his shout was   
lost among those of the students pouring out of the 1-F's   
windows into the hall behind him: "Now the jerk's going   
to fight a girl!"/ "She's the one who wanted the fight!"/   
"That's because she wants him!"/ "KUNO!?? Why would ANY   
girl in her right mind--"/ "She ISN'T in her right mind,   
if she WANTS to fight!"/ "But when Kuno wins, he can't   
ask her out!"/ "But what if she wins!?!"/ "Then she ISN'T   
in her right mind!"...   
  
Kaneda picked up his speed to sprint out ahead of crowd,   
"Ranma!!"  
  
Ranma-chan heard and saw all of the commotion over her   
shoulder. She raced to an open sliding window. "Here's a   
nice short cut," she told Kuno as she leaped out of it.  
  
Kuno leaped after.  
  
Panic pumped adrenaline into Kaneda's body, "When I said   
you needed a girl, I didn't mean RANMA!!"   
  
Before his brain had caught up with his body, he'd leaped   
out the window himself.  
  
He heard Daisuke, above, say, "Hey, this is the third   
floor!"  
  
Too late he heard Ranma-chan, below, say, "Water!? Even   
when all it can do is make me wet, it's THERE!!?!"  
  
Far too late he heard Hiroshi pointed out, "Look, they're   
going to land in the pool." Kaneda's doom was sealed.  
  
SPLASH!  
  
SPLASHHHH!  
  
KER-SPLASHHHH!  
  
Hiroshi announced, "Look! Kuno's floating to the   
surface."  
  
Daisuke did color, "Yeah, but where's Saotome!?!"  
  
Yuka asked, "Where's Kaneda??"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Ranma-chan swam. "Gotta get out! ' Can't stand being   
wet!"  
  
Kuno saw her from the surface, "Ranma, I fight on! Defeat   
me!"  
  
He swam for her, his hands reaching for more than just   
water. He grabbed a bare arm. He spun her around to face   
him.   
  
That's when Ranma-chan caught sight of the flailing   
movement of somebody sinking to the bottom: Kaneda!  
  
Ranma-chan broke Kuno's hold. She brought her legs up,   
and pushed off against him at the correct angle! She then   
swam harder than she would if she were a guy, "Girls   
WOULD be more buoyant!"   
  
Kuno saw the girl he would make a lady put all of her   
thought on the task of saving the vile Kaneda Tendou. "Of   
course! Red hair, as with twins, are eldritch! The ally   
of demons has placed his mark upon her head to enslave   
her!"   
  
But his expressed thoughts had taken that last of his   
air. He would have to drown the evil sorcerer after he'd   
been brought to the surface.  
  
What he found when he raised his head above the water was   
a very wet panda. And it was holding a...teakettle?  
  
The girl he'd only momentarily forgotten yelled out,   
"Hey, Pop! Help me with Kaneda!"  
  
Kuno said, "The beast is the demon! I shall retake your--  
"  
  
Ranma-chan didn't want him taking ANYthing of hers: She   
knocked him across the pool...where he managed to get   
entangled in the ladder out.  
  
When Ranma-chan looked, the panda was still holding up   
its sign, [Why help him? Look what he's done to you!]  
  
Ranma-chan had pulled Kaneda over near the pool's edge,   
"Well, for one, how's your friend gonna take it if you   
let his kid stay drowned!?!"  
  
Bending to reason, the panda lift the two out of the pool   
together.   
  
But it put them both over its shoulders, held them there   
with his paws and took off!  
  
Ranma yelled, "Pop!! You're not helpin'!!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Lucky for Kaneda he wasn't as 'drowned' as might have   
been suspected. The rough trip to the school's empty   
athletic fields had forced him to cough up most of the   
water he'd taken in.  
  
When he was finally laid down among a few trees out of   
sight of most of the school. Ranma-chan had jumped off   
his pop. "I'll hit you in the gut to get the rest of the   
water out. But don't expect me to put my lips on yours!"   
Ranma was surprised she was upset that the jerk had   
nearly killed himself.  
  
Kaneda tried to say something, but hadn't quite the   
breath for it. He heard Ranma-chan say, "Don't go back   
for the teakettle, Pop! I'm wet and this wind'll just   
cool the hot water."  
  
But the panda didn't listen, of course.  
  
Glowering after the creature, Ranma-chan took off her   
pants. "You'd think THIS'd be enough of an excuse not to   
go back inside!" On guard against anything girly, she did   
her best to she forget she wasn't a guy.  
  
Kaneda looked at her legs and drew his breath in. -- And   
coughed!  
  
Getting her feet out, Ranma-chan scowled, "That WAS   
stupid! Jumpin' in like that when you can't swim!"  
  
Kaneda groaned: Another black mark against him in Ranma's   
eyes. "I *Cough!* was trying to warn you. I, uh, have   
been fighting Kuno longer than you have."  
  
Ranma's opinion of the Kaneda was only slightly raised.   
But, "I know how to pick up on an opponents style while   
we fight. I've been in enough of them." She twisted the   
pants and squeezed the water out. "He doesn't have a   
special technique, does he?"  
  
Kaneda said, "Other than being too stupid to know when to   
quit?" He shook his head. He sat up, "But it's Kuno's   
MOTVATION that's the threat!"   
  
Ranma felt the pants, and bent over to put them back on.   
I've never been any good about understanding motivations.   
You hafta fight no matter why you do." Kaneda got a good   
look at her boxer shorts.   
  
He blushed and turned away, trying not to think about   
what the pigtailed girl's ass would look like in panties.   
"You know that YOU challenged HIM?"  
  
Pulling up the damp pants Ranma said, "Yeah. So?"  
  
Kaneda stood up, still looking away, "What happens when   
you win a fight?"  
  
Ranma started unfastening her Chinese shirt, "I send them   
away. I don't want to see them again until they've   
learned their lesson." Of course, sometimes it didn't   
work out that way.   
  
Kaneda said, "That's OUR Code. "The Anything-Goes School   
of Martial Arts Code of Grace". We repeat their name to   
show respect, not arrogance.   
  
"But that's NOT Kuno's Code..." Kaneda turned around, saw   
Ranma-chan's bared boobs, and immediately turned around   
again. "If you defeat him, HE thinks you have to date   
him."  
  
Ranma-chan spun him back around, "That's HIS problem! I'm   
not gonna do that with any guy, even OVER my beaten   
body!"  
  
Ranma was demanding Kaneda look at her in the eye, as if   
she were a guy. Kaneda began to sweat as he struggled to   
keep his eyes from lowering past her face. His thoughts   
started to wonder, too, "Well, there's your reputation...as   
a, fighter, that is. Kuno will spread the, uh, word that   
you broke honor, and you'll lose shirt--I mean lose face   
between, I mean--"  
  
Ranma-chan glared intensely at him. She grabbed him by   
his white shirt and yanked him down to her level. She   
snarled, "How come you're DRY!?!!"  
  
Kaneda looked down at the still damp, and topless, girl.   
"How come you aren't?"  
  
Ranma-chan yelled, "Because I went for a SWIM!" The force   
of her answer caused her boobs to bob.  
  
Kaneda tore his eyes away, and tried to gently pry her   
little fists off of his shirt. "It just happens! It   
doesn't always happen this quick. It doesn't happen when   
I think about it too hard. I thought it might have to do   
with my red hair. Red hair appears all around the world,   
and they're often thought to have powers."  
  
Ranma-chan let him get loose. But her mood hadn't   
changed, "Magic! Damned thing mocks ALL the laws of   
physics! Once the curse gets you wet it doesn't need to   
stay. It probably goes to the same place Pop gets his   
signs." Ranma remembered that Pop hadn't pulled his first   
written sign out of thin air until he met his first   
countryman. The sheer frustration of not being able to   
communicate with another Japanese did it. "As long as you   
stay cursed, it lets your subconscious do some things,   
I'll bet." The curse gave you greater access to 'hammer   
space' than others, perhaps.  
  
PO-UR!  
  
The panda had returned with the teakettle. Kaneda no   
longer had to pretend that Ranma's boobs weren't a   
bother. But Kane-chan had to pretend HER boobs weren't a   
bother.  
  
She also had to grab her slacks to keep them from falling   
down.  
  
Kane-chan cried, "Why did you do that!!?!"   
  
The panda held up a green flag, and waved it.  
  
Kuno's voice cried, "The signal!!"  
  
The shirtless Ranma-kun yelled, "Pop!! What'd you go and   
do that for!!?! ' You TRYIN' to sic Kuno on Kaneda!?!"  
  
The panda held up its sign, [What's good for the gander   
is good for the goose.]  
  
Ranma-kun gaze went back to Kane-chan, "I can't say she   
doesn't have it comin'." Then he shoved her away. "But   
all she did was turn me into a girl. It's MY fault Kuno's   
after me." He set about for the nearest puddle. "And I   
ain't run away from a fight, yet." Not for long, anyway.  
  
The panda threw itself over the puddle on its back. It   
raised its long sharp claws to protest its son decision   
to be a girl.  
  
Ranma-kun yelled at it, "There's plenty more water out   
here! We just had a storm!"  
  
Suddenly: "Hey! Look at ME, Kuno!"  
  
Ranma-kun groaned. He didn't want to look. That idiot   
wasn't...?  
  
Still dripping wet, Kuno's eyes nearly popped out of   
their sockets when he saw the topless girl finding the   
extra hole in her belt. "Miss! I do not know why you   
address me in this, uh, manner, but it is not, uh,   
proper..."  
  
Her pants secure, Kane-chan said, "Do you remember me?"  
  
Kuno struggled to put his gaze on her face. "Uh, yes. I   
do believe I, uh, have. Seen you, that is. (Though not   
this much of you.)"  
  
The longhaired girl struck her pose, hands up, but hiding   
nothing. "My name is Akane Saotome: And I challenge you!"  
  
  
The End of this chapter 


	4. 04: Hot Water

Ranma & Kaneda  
By Ron Dow75  
From an idea by James M. Zema,  
Unauthorized, but allowed.  
  
04: Hot Water   
  
  
A shirtless 'Akane Saotome' was standing in the rough   
besides the empty sports fields behind Furinkan High. Her   
hands were raised only in the position, to defend-or-  
attack, not to hide her nude boobs. She tried to keep her   
thoughts off of her bare boobs, which the stiff breeze   
was making chilly. Her nipples were hard. But worst yet   
was a guy was staring at them.   
  
And not just any guy: "You would challenge Tatewaki   
Kuno?" he said in amazement. The "Shooting Star of the   
High School Kendo World", or whatever he was calling   
himself this week, was in his gi and had his   
bokken/wooden sword out. He was holding the hiltless   
sword like a samurai, by both hands.   
  
But the sight of half-naked girl had caused the bokken's   
tip to dip almost to the ground.   
  
Kane-chan answered, "Yes! I just said that. Are you going   
to do something about it before I change my mind!?!"  
  
"Akane Saotome," Kuno repeated the name of his opponent.   
"Lest too light winning makes the prize light, I accept."   
He raised his sword towards her. "If you should defeat   
me, I shall allow you to date me. But beware. Should you   
prove worthy of me, I am prepared to lose."  
  
Kune-chan said, "Don't lose too easy, or YOU won't be   
worthy of me!"   
  
Kuno's eyes leaped fully off of her chest. It took him a   
moment to deal with the affront. Then he smiled, "A woman   
thinking ahead!" He paused to take a dashing pose, "But   
can a Kuno NOT be the proper sire?"  
  
It was Kane-chan's turn to let her weapons fall in   
amazement. "What!!?!" -{Maybe this wasn't such a good   
idea after all!}-  
  
That's when Kuno charged, "HYAHH!!" He used a low-and-up   
slash. But Kane-chan leaped and somersaulted off of his   
tall shoulders. She landed behind him.   
  
She didn't have time to tell herself how stupid she was   
to do that without something that tied down her boobs:   
Kuno came back to slashed at shoulder-height.   
  
This time Kane-chan leaped high over and far from Kuno.   
This time her abused boobs screamed too loudly to be   
ignored, -{If only I'd practiced as a girl!!}-  
  
Kuno turned in one fluid motion and charged, his bokken   
raised over his head. He sends it down towards--   
  
Kune-chan stopped it in her bare hands. The hurt was so   
bad over her chest she couldn't make any comment.  
  
Kuno's eyes fixed on the taut boobs. He used all his   
manly strength to press his bokken down. The female was   
being forced to lower herself. "You're mine!"   
  
Kane-chan fell. The bokken was still between her palms.   
She did a martial arts landing. She brought the foot that   
had slipped on the damp grass up against Kuno's belly.   
  
And tossed him with all her might. Only when he was   
flying, did she allow herself to say, "Ow!" -{Momentum   
means something different to a girl!}-  
  
Ranma-chan could have let Kuno fall on his head, but what   
would that prove? It had much more meaning to catch him   
in her outstretched hands.   
  
Kuno said, "We meet again." He was looking at the   
cleavage exposed by her unfastened shirt.  
  
The red-haired girl told him, "What kinda man ARE you,   
fightin' girls!? You're not a man!!" And she let his head   
continue to the ground.   
  
Whang! He then toppled over onto his butt. "That hurt,   
you know."  
  
Kane-chan came hurrying over as fast as her sore boobs   
would allow, "Ranma! You're a girl again!" -{Damn! There   
goes THAT plan! I'll have to wait for another time!}-  
  
Ranma-chan told her, "This is who he was fightin'! And I   
DON'T like people fightin' my fights for me!" She threw   
Kane-chan's shirt at her.  
  
Kane-chan caught it, "I WASN'T fightin' YOUR fight! I   
was--"  
  
Ranma-chan ignored her to address Kuno, "I challenged you   
first! You should be fightin' me!"  
  
Kuno said, "But you just said--"  
  
Ranma-chan took the position, "I'm different!"  
  
Kuno rose, "That you are, My Maiden of Battle!!" (Kane-  
chan cried, "Hey! What about me!?!) "Beauty doth   
persuade: If you can defeat me--" And he reached for the   
sword Kane-chan still held in her hands, "I shall allow   
you to DATE with me!"  
  
The bare foot girl landed on his out-thrust wooden sword,   
slid forward as if it were a tightrope, and, "Who asked   
for a DATE, anyway!?!!" kicked him solidly in the cheek.   
  
She did two mid-air martial arts leg thrusts for   
emphasis, and landed upright.   
  
Kuno was lying on the ground in a daze. Ranma-chan strode   
over to his disgraced bokken. She flipped it up using   
just the tops of her toes. Then caught it. Putting it   
over her shoulder, she said, "Guess what, Kuno. I ain't   
goin' on any date with you."   
  
Ranma-chan said, "I'm goin' home."  
  
Kane-chan looked at Kuno, then at Ranma's back. She   
followed her, buttoning her shirt, "It's not even lunch   
yet. What about your father!?!"  
  
Ranma-chan simply pointed high up into the leaves of a   
tree. The panda's claws were embedded into the trunk. It   
wasn't sure how well pandas could get down, and wasn't   
ready yet to find out.  
  
Kuno looked at the departing redhead, "She is formidable.   
And the other..." And then he lost his struggle against   
consciousness.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
As they headed for the exit from the school grounds,   
Ranma-chan frowned, "What was the idea challengin' him   
like that!?!"   
  
Kane-chan told her, "I was fightin' Kuno long before   
you." -(Don't tell her the real reason.}-  
  
Ranma-chan snorted, "Kaneda Tendou was fightin' him. Not   
some worse-than-tomboy chick named 'Akane SAOTOME'."   
  
Kane-chan said, "It's my fault you got into a fight with   
the jerk. If you weren't a girl, he at least wouldn't   
think about dating you."  
  
Ranma-chan said, "Oh, so now that he's thinin' of datin'   
me, you decide YOU want to date him."  
  
Kane-chan cried, "No!! ...Well..." The thought of going out   
on a triple date HAD crossed her mind. But JUST to so she   
could step in case she had to help Ranma. Er, in anything   
not having to do with martial arts. She had a very hard   
time remembering Ranma wasn't a girl. Herself, on the   
other hand, "Why would I want to date Kuno!?! He's a   
guy!"  
  
Ranma-chan said, "He's also tall, dark, handsome, rich,   
and any number of other things. Remember the list you   
made?" Ranma made another bid at getting her interested   
in somebody besides her.   
  
Kane-chan raised her voice, "I did NOT make a list!   
Nabiki did."  
  
Ranma-chan said, "Oh... So the only reason you didn't try   
for him before was because of your sister!"  
  
Kane-chan glared at her. She was deliberately insulting   
her manhood. "ALSO on that list was one great big   
deficit: Kuno's insane!!"  
  
Ranma shrugged her shoulders, "So he's a little inbred.   
That makes it a good thing for his clan to get some fresh   
blood. ' May even explain WHY he lookin' to get a girl   
who can 'knock down' the social barriers for him."  
  
Kane-chan said, "Now look who sounds like she's   
interested." She turned her nose up, "Is that how you   
think...bloodlines, and class, or...whatever your idea of   
eugenics is?"  
  
Ranma-chan said, " "Eugenics"?? No!! I know a lot of   
girls want to marry up, but I ain't--" She had a thought,   
"A girl WOULD be marryin' up!"  
  
Kane-chan said, "At the cost of having to LIVE with the   
guy!"  
  
Ranma-chan put her hands behind her head, "Not   
necessarily. Kuno strikes me as a pretty traditional   
samurai-type. That means his wife wouldn't hafta see him   
much."  
  
Kane-chan shuddered, "Except to...'procreate'."   
  
Ranma-chan walked on, apparently not taking the thought   
of having sex with a guy seriously.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
It wasn't until they were nearing Dr. Tofu's clinic that   
Kane-chan finally thought to mention, "You haven't   
fastened your shirt, yet." They had been lucky. The only   
people they'd come across were women and small children.   
The women had kept their comments to themselves, and   
Ranma was used to children staring at her.  
  
Ranma-chan looked down. She sighed, and started   
fastening. "What a bother. As a guy I don't have to think   
much about how I look." She had a thought, "Why DID you   
take your shirt off?"  
  
Kane-chan looked at her close her shirt over the shifting   
mounds. Her face reddened, "Because I EXPECTED you to   
forget about your shirt, and, and..." she mumbled,   
"...because I was competing against C cups." Her own boobs   
seemed like giant (sore) nuisances, but they were only   
B's.  
  
Ranma-chan frowned, "When it comes to competin', SMALLER   
are better. None is the best."  
  
Kane-chan thought, -{She certainly doesn't THINK like a   
girl.}- Then, -{Wait!!?! Does that mean *I* do!?!}-  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
-  
  
Dr. Tofu's patients at this time were elderly, and mostly   
women. It wouldn't do just to walk into the infirmary,   
now. Unless it was somebody like Mrs. Tanaka, the patient   
in there with the doctor wouldn't want people to know   
what their problem was.   
  
Of course Ranma-chan couldn't just sit, so Kane-chan   
stood, too. The whispered talk of the others became   
centered on: "The girls these days!"/ "In MY day, a girl   
knew how to dress like a girl."/ "Right, we'd never wear   
pants."/ "If the gods had wanted girls to look like boys,   
they'd wouldn't have given us hips."  
  
The mention of hips took Kane-chan's mind away from her   
boobs.  
  
Ranma-chan said, "It'd be quicker and simpler just to go   
back home."  
  
Kane-chan said, "But we're supposed to be in school."   
Then he remembered, "The lav! It has a sink."   
  
Ranma-chan made sure Kane-chan was looking as she looked   
around. "And what about them?"  
  
Kane-chan smiled for the waiting room. -{My hair trick   
would backfire here.}- "We could use another public lav."  
  
Ranma-chan frowned at the idea, "Why didn't you think of   
that before?"  
  
Kane-chan got angry, "Why didn't YOU."  
  
Ranma-chan said, "I'm goin'."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
There were no public restrooms between the clinic and the   
Tendous'. But there were puddles...and a bicycler who was   
delivering barbequed eel and who wasn't paying attention.  
  
Splash!  
  
Ranma-chan accused, "You did that on purpose!"  
  
Kaneda, ticked, replied, "No I didn't!" He would've liked   
to have towered over her when he yelled, but she was up   
walking a fence again. -{She won't even let a guy feel   
like a guy.}-  
  
Ranma-chan grumbled, "At least I didn't get wet."  
  
Kaneda 'offered', "I could change that." He glanced at   
another puddle.  
  
Ranma-chan said, "But I wouldn't change!"  
  
Kaneda said, "That's why *I* should be the guy, dummy!"  
  
Ranma-chan stopped on top of a fence, "What!!?!"  
  
Kaneda stopped to confront her, "There's always going to   
be accidents with water. Hardly any of it is going to be   
hot! It's just simpler if you stay a girl!!"  
  
Ranma-chan's fists shot down and her toes curled up as   
she yelled, "I'm a GUY!!"   
  
Kaneda yelled back, "Look in the mirror!! AND inside: A   
girl's brain has GOT to go with that body!"  
  
Ranma-chan yelled, "You're the real girl!!" He got a look   
in her eye, "And I think it's time YOU started using your   
girl brain!"  
  
Ranma jumped down to his level. For a second Kaneda   
thought she saw a fiery red glow about her. A battlle aura!  
  
Kaneda backed away, "What, what do you think you're going   
to do?"  
  
She smiled wickedly, "You're gonna be hit by hot water.   
And it AIN'T gonna be by accident!!"   
  
Kaneda believed that Ranma COULD put him in hot water!   
He immediately swung his bookbag. Ranma was knocked   
over the wire fence...and into the canal below.  
  
Splatsch!  
  
Ranma-chan rose from the water sputtering. Then yelled,   
"This is a showdown!! If you have ANY honor, you'll meet   
me in the dojo!!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kaneda paced up and down the path to the front door...and   
to the gate to the dojo. "What am I going to do!?! I   
can't fight Ranma as a martial artist. She's out of my   
class by several levels! The only way I can beat Ranma is   
as a girl.  
  
"But that's EXACTLY what she wants!" He looked at the   
dojo over the wooden fence. "At least if I became a girl   
it would neutralize her secret technique."  
  
He bowed his head, "But I'd be living in fear of it until   
I found out what it is. I would be a coward."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Mad as a wet hornet, Ranma-chan came home to the Tendou   
house. She stormed right into it. "Where is he!?!!"   
  
Kasumi called out, "Oh, Ranma! You startled me. You're   
home early."  
  
She was in the garden hall so that's where Ranma-chan   
went. "Where's Kaneda!?! We have a duel to straighten out   
our dual roles!"  
  
Kasumi called out, "He SHOULD be in school. Shouldn't he?   
(Oh, it's times like these I do wish I had a watch.)"  
  
When Ranma-chan could, she saw that Kasumi was carrying a   
bucket of water. Ignoring that question for the moment,   
Ranma rushed to the back hall, "Is he hiding back   
here!?!"  
  
Kasumi looked over her shoulder and said, "Kaneda's   
hasn't been in the house!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Ranma opened the door to bathroom, "I bet THIS is where   
you are!! You like bein' a girl in here!" But Kaneda   
wasn't in the bathroom.  
  
But the bathroom wasn't normal. The plastic stool and   
pail were tilted against the side of the tiled furo/tub.   
And the bath mat was rolled and upended across the furo.   
The sign on it read, [Do not fill!]  
  
The taps each had a sign on them, [Do not turn!] and [Do   
not touch!]. And the one on the tap you used before you   
got in the furo read [Do not twist!].  
  
Ranma-chan said, puzzled, "It has to be more than a   
problem with the hot water."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Ranma-chan found Kasumi in the kitchen. She was headed   
for the back door with the metal bucket. "What's goin'   
on?" There were signs over the kitchen sink's taps, too.  
  
Kasumi said, "I'm so sorry. We're getting the drains   
fixed soon."  
  
Ranma-chan went over to her, "Let me take care of that   
bail water for you!"  
  
Kasumi was about to protest, but didn't want to be   
impolite. She smiled and let the girl take it. She bowed,   
"Thank you! Too bad you hadn't skipped school earlier.   
This is the last one."  
  
As Ranma-chan headed out the door, Kasumi informed her,   
"Poor it over the gravel beneath the faucet out there!"  
  
But the strong, small girl was headed in the opposite   
direction. Kasumi said to herself, "I guess she's going   
to clean the dojo." She was smiling as she turned around,   
"That's the one place I don't have to think about   
cleaning."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Ranma-chan had taken four steps in the arena before she   
started sinking in a spot of extra wet white sand.   
"What!!?! Quicksand!?!!"  
  
Before she had time to do anything but react, a fighting   
staff came out and forced the bucket over. The water   
spilled on top of Ranma-chan: Splash!  
  
At the other end of the six-foot-long bo stick was   
Kaneda. "So your secret technique DOESfirst need water   
to heat."   
  
Ranma-chan was still sinking; she was down to her hips   
now, "How'd you pull this trick!!?!"  
  
Kaneda flicked a lock of his long red hair back with his   
thumb, "You're not the only one who knows special   
techniques."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Three years earlier Dr. Tofu had had a day off. Kaneda   
had invited to spend it at the Tendou's house. Kaneda had   
wanted to him to do some coaching and had gotten him to   
do a little bo sparing. Despite that it had been raining   
earlier, they did it outside the dojo. "It'll be more of   
a challenge to do it on wet sand, don't you think, Dr.   
Tofu?! ANYbody can fight indoors!"  
  
The mature accomplished martial artist had gone easy on   
the boy, but it was still a workout. Kaneda was good; the   
doctor was much better.  
  
Then Kasumi had come out with a tray. "Would anybody like   
some cold lemonade or tea?"  
  
Tofu's glasses steamed up, and he dropped his defenses.   
Kaneda knew that the match could not go on. Dejectedly,   
he watched as Tofu stirred the sand with one end of his   
bo stick while pouring the drinks on the ground, "Kasumi!   
Would anybody like something made with your own hands?!   
What a silly question! I don't see how..."  
  
He sank down into the pit he'd bored.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Ranma-cha was down to where her hips were covered up.   
Ranma-chan used her arms and legs to move through the   
sand.  
  
Kaneda realized, "If I knew how to swim I might've seen   
that coming!"  
  
He brought the bo down and started stirring and boring   
the sand ahead of Ranma-chan.   
  
He wasn't fast enough. Ranma-chan caught the stick with   
her hand and pulled. She'd pull Kaneda in if he held on.   
  
Kaneda held on. It was a nearly one-sided tug-of-war.   
Ranma-chan was stronger and more skilled, despite her   
having to swim; and his footing was sand. Again Kaneda   
sensed the heat of her battle aura. Ranma smiled at the  
taste of victory, "All I have to do is get you a little wet!  
Just a little further..." Kaneda HAD been dragged to  
within centimeters of his greatest phobia.  
  
-{Phobia?}- Then he bent forward at the waist, "Kiss me,   
my fiancee!"  
  
Ranma-chan yelled, and pushed the staff and the guy back.   
  
Kaneda landed on his feet further in the arena, the bo in   
hand.  
  
Ranma-chan was seriously creeped.  
  
Kaneda said, "Get close enough, and I will kiss you!" -  
{It WOULD have to sound like a threat.}-  
  
Ranma-chan yelled, "Don't you dare! Not as a girl, and   
not EVER as a guy!!"  
  
Kaneda got into the stance, and started to experiment, "I   
wonder if I can develop a martial arts kissing   
technique?"  
  
Determinedly Ranma-chan challenged herself, "All I have   
to do is touch you once when you're wet!"  
  
Kaneda nodded, "Something else your technique needs."  
  
He turned his back on her, and walked away, "I would   
rather kiss you as a guy. But if you want me to do it as   
a girl..." He turned when he got near the door. He smiled a   
challenge at her, "You said you wanted a showdown in the   
dojo?"  
  
Ranma-chan growled and glowered.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Nabiki came home from school. As she was headed for the   
front door, she heard noises and loud talk coming from   
the dojo:   
  
Kaneda said, "...Well, that is one of the things a towel in   
a dojo is for!"  
  
Ranma-chan said, "When I get my hands on it, I'm going to   
wring it around your neck!!"  
  
Kaneda said, "When you took gym at your other schools,   
did you ever do martial arts towel snapping?"  
  
There were a series of wet *Snaf!*, *Snaph!* that got   
drier. Kaneda explained, "I had to learn it to keep the   
guys away from my secret in the locker room."  
  
Ranma cried, "Cut that out!! You're gonna hit something   
sensitive!" The sound of bare feet running on the   
floorboards followed and then were gone. She'd leaped.  
  
Kaneda yelled, "Towel trampoline defense!!"  
  
After a few seconds it sounded like Ranma-chan landed   
lightly on a foot and a knee on the boards.  
  
Kaneda was surprised, "It worked! You're light enough   
that I can sling-shot you off of the towel."  
  
Ranma roared, "ONLY in my girl-form!!" She charged this   
time, "I have another source of water!!"  
  
Kaneda answered, "And I've got the towel!!"  
  
Nabiki shook her head, "Idiot," and went inside her home.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Nabiki changed, and went into the kitchen. Kasumi was   
stir-frying dinner. Nabiki leaned against a counter and   
watched, "Ranma, Kuno and Kaneda were all anybody could   
talk about today, in that order."  
  
Kasumi smiled, "It's good that a new girl is getting   
known in her new school. I do hope she's getting a good   
reputation."  
  
Nabiki said, "It depends on how you define "good". At   
least everybody knows she can take care of herself."  
  
Then she smirked, "Physically, at least."  
  
Kasumi sighed, "I guess that will take care of problems   
with the boys."  
  
Suddenly the kitchen door to the outside burst open, and   
in stormed Ranma-chan. "How can I fight somebody I ain't   
supposed to fight, and who don't' fight fair ANYWAY!!"   
She went over to the kitchen sink and turned the hot   
water tap.   
  
Nothing.  
  
She turned on the cold: Nothing!  
  
Kasumi said, "I'm sorry, Ranma, but now there's no water   
any where in the house. That's why I'm preparing this   
type of meal."   
  
While Ranma-chan tried not to scream in utter   
frustration, Nabiki said, "I thought it was just the   
drains!?"  
  
Kasumi said, "That reminds me, I got the nice plumber to   
send us a port-a-potty."   
  
Ranma-chan opened the refrigerator door, looked inside,   
and then slammed it shut. Ranma grumbled, "Maybe there's   
a way I can use the quicksand despite all the grit." She   
noticed a bucket.  
  
She rushed out of the kitchen with the bucket, "I can use   
the water from the koi pond!" Even Nabiki could sense   
the battle aura coming from the girl.  
  
Nabiki eyed her big sister for a while as she continued   
happily preparing dinner. She finally came to the   
conclusion, "You turned off the water, didn't you   
Kasumi?"   
  
Kasumi didn't look at her, "Me? Why would I do that?"  
  
Nabiki said, "Oh, I don't know. It wouldn't have anything   
to do with Kaneda, would it?"  
  
Kasumi said, in a tone that suggested that it reminded   
her of a different topic, "I've never seen Kaneda so   
happy. Ranma makes an excellent sparing partner."   
  
Nabiki didn't buy that as the complete story, "Unh,   
hunh." She noted the can with water that Kasumi had used   
to clean the vegetables; it was now nearly hidden. "She   
even got rid of the used water she would've saved?"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kaneda ran in through the garden door and looked around   
for a place to hide and rest. He forgot his great plan   
when he saw his dad sitting at the family table.   
  
He rushed over to him, "Now you're going to tell me the   
whole story! Ranma knows how SHE got cursed, I want to   
know...." His dad made no move to defend himself. He made   
no movement at all.  
  
Kasumi came in to set the table. "Father's been like that   
all day, Kaneda. I do hope he comes back soon. He needs   
to eat good home-cooked meals."  
  
Suddenly from the foyer, Kaneda heard Mr. Saotome yell,   
"Ranma! Why are you still a girl!? I've overlooked it   
before. But that was BEFORE you got engaged to a guy!"   
  
Ranma-chan yelled, "I ain't engaged to NO guy!! Or to the   
GIRL she realy is!!"  
  
Genma said, "End the farce and choose one of the Tendou   
girls. Honor the decade old agreement between families   
that the son--"  
  
Splash!  
  
Ranma-chan said, "Oops! I spilled this bucket of pond   
water."  
  
The panda said, "Burao! Bah-rah, bamuru!"  
  
Ranma-chan laughed, "Sorry! I can't understand a word   
you're sayin'."  
  
Nabiki entered the family room just as Kaneda was   
leaving, "I THOUGHT idea was not to fight Ranma with   
martial arts?!!"  
  
On his way back out into the garden, he told her, "And   
it's hard not to! I'm trying to stay as unorthodox as I   
can."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Kasumi had enforced a truce within the house the next   
morning. If anybody or anything got wet, there would be   
no breakfast.   
  
Ranma-chan ate sullenly while keeping her eyes on Kaneda.   
  
Kaneda ate sullenly while keeping his eyes on his dad.  
  
His dad just stared out into space.  
  
Nabiki ate while looking bored at the whole situation.  
  
Mr. Saotome remained a panda.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
On their way to school Kaneda kept his eye on Ranma-chan.   
The guy was walking the walls and fences again. "You   
didn't attack me in my sleep."  
  
Ranma-chan said, surly, "I don't do things like that."  
  
Kaneda continued his thread, "You also played fair and   
stayed within the Tendou compound."  
  
Ranma-chan snorted, "I can't say the same for you!"  
  
Kaneda got sore, "I did too! I never left the property!"  
  
Ranma-chan accused, "Oh, yeah!?! Every couple a hours you   
disappeared!"   
  
Kaneda told her, "That's because I had to REST! I don't   
have the stamina you have!"  
  
Ranma-chan leaped down to confront him, "Some martial   
artist! Some guy!!"  
  
Though it hurt his pride, Kaneda was forced to say,   
"That's right! Compared to you I'm not a guy! I'm as weak   
and soft as a girl!"  
  
Ranma-chan screamed in frustration. "Will you STOP   
reminding me of that!"  
  
Splash!  
  
The old woman with the ladle had gotten Ranma wet again.  
  
Ranma-chan reacted with a pure look of revenge, "I'm wet!   
I've got water!!"  
  
Kaneda ran! -{Not now! Not now! I can't be a girl now!!}-   
he told himself. At least HE had rested and gotten enough   
sleep yesterday and this morning.  
  
Swerving and twisting as randomly as he could, Kaneda   
made it to Dr. Tofu's clinic.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kaneda went out a back exit. -{Ranma doesn't know the   
streets like I do. I'll take a long way to school. Once I   
get there, it'll be too late for Ranma.}-  
  
He kept looking over his shoulder, or spinning around as   
he hurried. He paused at each intersection and cautiously   
looked both ways. He then dashed across.  
  
He hid behind concrete poles, mailboxes, trash bags, and   
just about anything that could give him cover.  
  
All that remained at last was the long block with the   
business district on one end and the high school on the   
other.   
  
He did some sprint and hide ninja tricks he'd seen on TV.   
  
He came to the point where he could see the giant school   
clock. "Only eight twenty-six?? I thought I was going to   
be later than that." He left the little niche in a wall   
its gate made, and hurried for the school's main gate.   
  
Squirtch! Kaneda was hit by the high-powered water gun   
he'd used on Ranma yesterday.  
  
Ranma-kun jumped down from the wall in front of him. "Ha!   
I thought you'd at least try and take another way in." He   
pocketed the gun.  
  
Kaneda looked behind the guy at the school gate, -{So   
close!}- As he calculated how he was going to get by   
Ranma-kun and those last few meters, he said, "Where's   
your honor? You wouldn't let people know my secret?"  
  
Ranma-kun rubbed his hands together, as he reminded him   
of the debt, "Like you risked MY secret yesterday!?!   
There were a whole lot of guys comin' and--"   
  
PADDAPADDAPADDAPADDA! Came the rumble of tens of   
feet out of the main school building.   
  
Wet Kaneda said, "The lookout gave them the signal!" And   
he lunged, ducked and managed to just get by the   
distracted Ranma-kun. He told him, "Red hair calls   
attention AWAY from the change! It HELPS you seem like   
another person!"  
  
His battle aura intense, Ranma leaped after him, "Good! You   
have more of it! --Saotome Instant Hot Water Attack!!" His   
amazingly quick reflexes caused his hands became a blur. With   
the aura's power and protection, they built up enough friction to   
heat the skin...AND water.   
  
His hot hands shot out, and touched the top of Kaneda's   
wet head and shoulder. He could FEEL the water get hot.  
  
Kaneda shrank. Her long red hair became black.  
  
She was standing in the way of the attacking school   
athletes: "The game IS tennis, and I'm going to END your   
racket!!"/ "You can't race away from this showdown!"/   
"I'll push you out of the champion's circle!" / "I'll   
prove dancers are athletes too!"  
  
Kane-chan screamed--And leaped back into the surprised   
Ranma's arms. "You wouldn't hurt a girl, would you!?!"  
  
The 26 guys in uniforms, most of them not the same as   
yesterday's, stopped to looked up and down the street.   
"What happened to Tendou?!"/ "He finally ran out on a   
fight??"/ "I thought you said her couldn't race away"?!"/   
"He broke the 100 meter dash!"/ "He is a coward!"/ "Yeah!   
After weeks of beating us up, he finally got tired of   
it!"/ "That means we won, doesn't it?"  
  
Meanwhile Ranma-kun was trying to get Kane-chan off of   
him, "WHY did you do this, idiot! Can't you hear what   
they're callin' Kaneda!?!"   
  
Kane-chan 'whimpered', "I'm not Kaneda. You'll protect   
me, won't you?! You are a much better than Kaneda!" And   
she turned her head towards the crowd and yelled, "You're   
the BEST ATHLETE around!!"  
  
That got the attention of jocks hungry to prove   
themselves. "What did that girl say?"/ "Are you sure   
she's a girl? Look at how's she's dressed."/ "Oh, she's a   
girl alright, dummy!"/ "I wouldn't mind going asking her   
out."/ "You don't just ASK a girl like that out."  
  
Kane-chan yelled, "I only go out with the best!!" She   
stuck out her tongue, and then buried her face in Ranma-  
kun's chest. -{Please! Give me the strength not to   
puke!}-  
  
PADDAPADDA! The horde of challengers charged at Ranma-  
kun. "She says she's the one who can take her away from   
her boyfriend!"/ "She's the PRIZE for the best athlete!"  
  
Ranma-kun cried, "Now look what you did!!?!"  
  
Kane-chan fought the urge to giggle, "You're the one who   
wanted me to be a girl! And the Code says boys shouldn't   
fight a girl!"  
  
A tennis player was in the lead, his racket ready to   
strike. Behind him was a rugby player...  
  
Ranma-kun quickly tossed Kane-chan up towards the top of   
the school wall. He had just enough time duck the racket,   
elbow the guy in the gut and kick the rugby player at the   
same time. After that came the ju jitsuist...  
  
Standing on the wall Kane-chan looked down at the   
fighting. He frowned, "That should be me. This stupid plan   
better work." She turned to the school grounds.   
"Nothing!" She looked at the people in the school windows   
watching the brawl. She saw Nabiki, looking grumpy   
because she'd only had a sponge bath.   
  
The fight was almost over with and she was about to give   
up on her plan when: "Hey!! Kuno!! It's ME!!" she waved   
at the guy in the black-and-blue standing on top of the   
clock's tower.   
  
Kuno noticed, "The Girl with the Untamed Hair!"  
  
Kane-chan called, "What are you doing up there!?!! I   
challenged you!! If you don't hurry up to get beaten, I'm   
leaving!!"  
  
Kuno yelled back, "I'm coming My Diana of the Hunt!!" And   
he leaped from the height.  
  
A surprised Kane-chan said, "He really IS an idiot!"   
  
Kuno crashed through the foliage of a tree near the   
building.  
  
Kane-chan turned away, "He'd better have had that   
planned." Not caring to find out one way or another if   
Kuno was going to escape serious injury, -{He's too much   
of an idiot not to survive.}- she looked to the streetside of   
the wall.  
  
Down below the last guy to fall at Ranma-kun's feet   
asked, "Who, are, you??!"  
  
Cinching her belt, Kane-chan leaped down into Ranma-kun's   
arms. "He's my fiance!"  
  
The girl stuck to him again, Ranma-kun screamed, "I   
ain't!! I ain't nobody's fiance!!"  
  
Kane-chan leaned closer to him, "Oh, you'd rather be my   
fiancée, as in "bride-to-be"?"  
  
Ranma-kun tried to shake, toss, cast, and peel the girl-  
form away from him. He even thought of putting her down   
where he could get a foothold on her. "How are you doing   
this!!?!"   
  
Making sure her arm was wrapped around his one free arm,   
she told him, "I learned it from a friend Nabiki once   
had. She had a crush on me. I call the technique   
Clinging-Vine-on-a-Statue."  
  
Ranma-kun screamed, "I'm not a statue!! I'm--"  
  
Kuno cried, "You are an obstacle to what should   
rightfully belong to the Noble Kuno!" Twigs with leaves   
were sticking out of his gi.   
  
Kane-chan told him, "I haven't beaten you yet!!" She   
squeezed Ranma to her, "But I HAVE beaten my fiance, Kei   
Tendou!"  
  
Ranma-kun cried, "You haven't beaten--" Ranma blinked, "   
"Kei Tendou"??"  
  
She smiled a challenge at him, "That's your name...as   
surely as mine is Akane Saotome."  
  
  
The End of this chapter 


	5. 05: The Tendou Trick

Ranma & Kaneda  
By Ron Dow75  
From an idea by James M. Zema,  
Unauthorized, but allowed.  
  
[Note: This story is on the anime's timeline.]   
  
05: The Tendou Trick   
  
A scratched and tattered Kuno stood there for a moment with tree   
branches sticking out of his kendo-gi. He was trying to   
understand what had just happened, "T, Te, Tendou!? His, his   
name is, TEN,DOU!!?!"  
  
His bookbag on his back, Ranma-kun protested, "My name is--"  
  
Kane-chan put her hands up against his mouth; in her best 'girl'   
voice, she said, "I just HAD to tell him. I'm SO sorry. I know   
we promised to keep our real names a   
SECRET."   
  
She frowned into his eyes, trying to get her message through to   
him. Her voice hardened, "We DO want to keep our secret, don't   
we?"  
  
In answer, Ranma-kun dropped the girl in the boys' uniform. She   
landed on her feet, her hands still over his mouth. She asked,   
"Well?!" taking the risk of taking her hands off.  
  
Ranma-kun asked, his voice slowed by him controlling his anger,   
"And how is me bein' a Kei Tendou gonna help keep a secret?"  
  
The black haired girl relaxed a little, "Two names implies TWO   
people."  
  
Ranma-kun had thought of that before. But as a martial artist,   
his name was important. He didn't WANT people to know he became   
a girl. But he did want his opponents to know Ranma Saotome beat   
them. It was a dilemma he hadn't settled to his satisfaction   
yet. Now this guy girl wanted to settle it for him! Ranma-kun   
grumbled, "But why Kei Tendou?" And shouldn't it be the girl   
that had the different name?  
  
That was when Kuno attacked, "Nay, I say!! One scourge of   
Furinkan is too many!!"  
  
Ranma moved the girl around out of the way. He said to the guy   
with the raised sword, "Hah! A fight I can deal with!"  
  
Kane-chan looked on a little amazed. "He's not fighting under   
the her own name.... Nabiki's plan is better than I thought."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
It has started on that first night, when they'd discovered the   
truth about Ranma AND Kaneda. Nabiki had told Kasumi "Akane   
Saotome" would be staying with her.   
But when it came time for Kane-chan to go to Kaneda's room,   
Nabiki had redirected her.  
  
Sitting Kane-chan down, Nabiki said, "We have to talk.   
You WERE serious when you volunteered to be Ranma's   
fiancee?" Before Kane-chan could interrupt, she held up her   
hand, "I didn't say marriage. That's a step or two down the   
line."  
  
Kane-chan made no move. She was still overwhelmed by all that   
had just happened. Despite finding out she was really a girl,   
Kane-chan could not yet imagine marrying 'another' guy. Just   
thinking the cute redhead could disappear into a guy irritated   
her no end. And as a guy, Ranma-kun brought out her natural   
antipathy towards 'other' guys. And there was something about   
the person, whether guy or girl, that got on her nerves.  
  
And yet....  
  
Nabiki said, "I'll take that as a yes. Look, *I* don't want to   
get stuck with the guy. He won't even be able to afford the   
inheritance tax, the marriage tax, and ALL the other taxes   
that's be dropped on a Japanese couple, let alone the life-style   
I'd like to become accustomed to."  
  
Kane-chan'd forgotten about all the taxes waiting for them.   
Ranma'd be an asset. She's such a great martial artist her   
reputation would bring people into the dojo to learn from a   
master like her. The women would come thinking, "If a cute   
little thing like that can do it, so can I". While the guys   
would.... Suddenly Kane-chan became angry at the thought of   
other guys ogling Ranma-chan, even in her loose martial arts   
uniform.   
  
Nabiki continued with HER logic, "That means without you, KASUMI   
is the one left to fulfill dad's promise."  
  
Kane-chan blurted out, "Kasumi engaged to a girl?!" Kane-chan   
saw, that her guy-issues with Ranma were on the surface. She   
could not fundamentally accept Ranma as a guy. She had a far   
better chance accepting HERSELF was really a girl. Little did   
she know she had received the "Juusenkyo Blow to the Soul". It   
had fixed Ranma's girl-image in her mind, just as it had done to   
Kuno. The two would do mental contortions rather than admit they   
were stuck on a guy.   
  
Nabiki gave herself a congratulatory smile at Kane-chan's   
response, and said, "Kasumi WOULDN'T become engaged to a girl."   
Then, playing to Kane-chan's male feelings, "NOR would any   
normal girl. Therefore, we must make sure Ranma is thought of as   
a girl. And it all begins by making the guy somebody else   
BESIDES Ranma."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kane-chan hadn't understood Nabiki's reasoning, it just seemed   
too complicated. She had put it aside. But when the great idiot   
Kuno showed an interest in Ranma-chan, she knew she had to do   
SOMETHING. Okay, it kept Ranma a girl to Kuno, but Nabiki's was   
the only plan Kane-chan had! But if it worked, Ranma would be a   
girl to more than just Kuno. And Kuno would help by spreading   
the word about "Kei Tendou".  
  
Each slash of his bokken at Ranma-kun was an accent on Kuno's   
words, "I am the undefeated captain of this school's kendo club:   
The raising new star of the high school fencing world. The sound   
of my voice strikes fear into the hearts of my enemies. My peers   
call me the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High! Tatewaki Kuno, age   
17."  
  
Only Ranma-kun paid much attention to the fallen athletes they   
were stepping on in the midst of their battle.  
  
Ranma-kun was on the defensive only because he hadn't decided   
WHO was going to respond to the challenge, "Well,   
I'm uh... Well, I'm um, I'm uh, um, I'm stayin' at--"  
  
It was time for Kane-chan to step in between the two, "I   
challenged you first, Kuno!"  
  
Ranma-kun spoke up, "*I* have first claim: Me, Ran--"  
  
Kuno hadn't bothered to wait to be interrupted, "The intruder is   
correct, my lady. A fight between men always takes precedent   
over a woman."  
  
Kuno was correct, but that did not ease Kane-chan's indignation.   
I have enough memories as a girl to know how being patronized   
feels. Not that she wanted her feelings eased at the moment:   
"Oh! Is that so!?! Then you say you'd rather fight Kei Tendou   
than Ranma Saotome?!"  
  
Kuno answered, "Ranma Saotome is a girl."  
  
Ranma-kun cried, "Now, just a minute there! Ranma Saotome AIN'T   
a girl!"  
  
Kane-chan said, "Ranma certainly doesn't ACT like a girl."  
  
Kuno said with a look of contempt, "That is because the infamous   
reveler in the perverse, Kaneda Tendou, gets his sick thrills   
denying Ranma her femininity!"  
  
Ranma-kun cried, "The only one denyin' my femininity around here   
is me!"  
  
Kuno turned his contempt on him, "So like a Tendou! Insecure in   
your masculinity, you chase women beyond the limits of what is   
morally, socially acceptable." Kuno pointed his sword at Kane-  
chan, "THEN when one succumbs to your guile and traps you by   
your own empty promise of betrothal," his sword moved from her   
neck to her feet, "you have her dress in male clothes so that   
your next prey will not be warned off by the sight of THIS   
victim!"  
  
Kane-chan looked down at the white shirt and, past her bust, the   
gray slacks she was wearing, "The idiot makes sense. If he were   
a lecher like Ataru Moroboshi, how much luck could I have being   
followed by a girl in a dress?" She then thought of what the   
character had to go through, "...Let alone in a tiger-striped   
bikini."  
  
Kuno asked in befuddlement, " "Tiger-striped bikini"?"  
  
Kane-chan answered without thinking, "Yes, that's what   
his live-in wears when not in human clothes."  
  
Kuno exclaimed, "Human clothes!? Live-in!?!" His voice became   
mournful, "Oh, not even to be allowed the dignity of the first   
person."   
  
Kane-chan asked, "What's gotten into you head now, Kuno!?!"  
  
Kuno's voice then became low and threatening, "The vengeance of   
Heaven is slow, but sure. Making her a cross-dresser isn't   
enough, you ALSO force her to go about nearly unclothed, eh? I   
Tatewaki Kuno shall bring you to justice."  
  
Ranma-kun cried, "Forcin'!!?! I'M not the one donin' any   
forcin'!!"   
  
"Silence, Fool!!" Kuno yelled, charging with is bokken.   
  
Kuno put all of his righteous anger into the blow. But Ranma   
leaped over the latest in generations of samurai. Kuno's strike   
tore into the foot-thick concrete wall, creating a cleft that   
reached down to his knees.  
  
Ranma-kun landed up on the rungs of a nearby concrete power   
pole.  
Kuno turned his sword on that.   
  
His sword broke deep into it.   
  
Ranma jumped off of the pole as it fell.   
  
Kuno said, "Why you slippery, little...."  
  
Ranma answered, "Hey, you hold on a second!" He rushed the   
taller guy in the kendo-gi; he got within an arm's reach of Kuno.   
The sword barely missing his moving head Ranma-kun told   
him, "Let me make one thing perfectly clear!" Ranma was   
on the attack now; in Kuno's face, Ranma-kun forced him to   
retreat, "You've got the wrong idea about me and Akane!"   
  
(Again Kane-chan was impressed, "Wow, he's fast: He was there   
before Kuno could blink! No wonder he can create enough friction   
to heat water!")  
  
Kuno finally found room to slash out with his sword again and   
again. Ranma-kun merely leaned back and moved his head aside   
again. "Akane means nothing to me!" Like pronouns and nouns,   
he found that he automatically matched the female-form to the   
female-form. He had conditioned himself to do this on his long   
trip back from China. The reflex extended to another cursed   
person.   
  
Kuno paused to reassess his opponent, He's good. He saw his   
chance: "Hyah!!"   
  
Centimeters from him, Ranma-kun did a flying back flip and   
landed halfway between him and Kane-chan. Ranma-kun pointed at   
her and said, "If you want a violent chick like her who's too   
crazy to know how to be a girl, you can have her!" He was   
serious. On top of everything else she'd done to him since he'd   
met her, she'd done some desperate things yesterday when he was   
trying to test his "Saotome Hot Water Attack". It would've   
maimed a lesser guy.   
  
(Kane-chan got mad, "Rrrmm!")  
  
Kuno said, "It is obvious as the day follows the night, your   
words carry no substance. I will not let you talk that way about   
Akane!" And he charged again with his sword.  
  
Kane-chan screamed, "Who are YOU to call me a violent chick!?!!"   
With nothing but the schoolbag at hand, she threw it at Ranma-  
kun.   
  
Ranma leaped high, high above as Kuno's sword cleaved the   
leather bag in half.  
  
Everything seemed to be in stop motion as Kuno fixed his eyes on   
the other guy, waiting for him to down close enough for him to--  
  
Kane-chan slammed into Kuno, knocking him over with her   
shoulder. Just then the school bell rang. Growling, she changed   
the angle of her wooden mallet and smashed it up at the falling   
Ranma-kun. He was sent flying over the school wall, yelling,   
"Violent, crazy girl!!"  
  
Twisting around for the crevice in the wall Kuno's sword had   
made, Kane-chan ran as fast as she could.  
  
She almost didn't notice she'd run over Kuno lying on the   
ground. Barely able to breathe, he said, "She has defeated me."  
  
On his forehead was the character for, 'not'.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kane-chan ran for where Ranma-kun had landed, "Kei! You can't go   
to school like that!"  
  
Ranma-kun spun around and struggled not to use his fists. He   
challenged her, "And WHAT'S to keep me!?!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
The substitute teacher a story above them said, "Nabiki Tendou,   
what do you think you're doing with that bucket?"  
  
Nabiki said, "Well, it's full of water."  
  
The teacher made to take it away from her, "Of course it's full   
of water. It's for when I send a student out in the hall as   
punishment. Would you like to demonstrate how to hold--" The   
weak, old substitute accidentally spilled the contents.   
  
Spla-ash!  
  
Kaneda told Ranma-chan, "Never mind. Ranma and Kaneda ARE   
registered."  
  
The red haired girl told the red haired boy, "Just because I'm   
registered doesn't mean--"  
  
The teacher called down, "You two! Just because you got wet   
doesn't excuse you from your classes! You're late as it is!" The   
man asked his class, "Does anybody know who they are?"  
  
Nabiki smiled, "Oh, yes. I know."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
And so Ranma-chan and Kaneda found themselves out in the hall   
with buckets a second day in a row.  
  
Kaneda tried to explain, "If you were registered as a guy, you   
couldn't also be registered as a girl, now could you?" He tried   
to lighten things up, "Think of all the extra homework!"  
  
Ranma-chan was not amused.  
  
Kaneda continued, "At least this way you don't have to worry   
about getting splashed with water. There'll be less chance of an   
unregistered guy running about the school." And if they do   
catch her as a him, Nabiki's given me an answer for that, too.  
  
Ranma-chan looked at him, about to say something. She thought of   
why she couldn't, and became even sourer.   
  
Kaneda said, "Look, you're already registered as Ranma Saotome.   
If there was a guy around with the same name, people might start   
seeing how much the two Ranma-s look alike." Same answer as   
above, Nabiki said. It'd be only a matter of time before they   
figured out your secret."   
  
Ranma snorted, "Hmf! You don't think anybody'll figure it out   
when they see a guy change into a girl in front a their eyes?"   
In the two long weeks she'd been changing, it had been a   
constant worry of hers.  
  
Kaneda looked at her, I want to be the man and comfort you.   
....Only, then you wouldn't have to be the woman.The hurt made   
him angry with himself. He looked away  
  
Yes, I could tell her. I've lived with the secret all of my   
life. I know how it's worked for me.  
  
Normally the change happened quickly, even in the blink of an   
eye. Unless there's a reason for somebody to be paying   
attention, they missed the change. And since just about   
everybody he'd met didn't believe magic was real, they didn't   
make the connection.   
  
He glanced back at Ranma-chan. Sure we have red hair. But it's   
nothing too bizarre. It's just hair. A lot of Japanese dye their   
hair. He had to look away from her again, She probably doesn't   
know it disappearing and appearing acts to loose and get   
attention. It further disconnects our bodies in the minds of   
people. That's one of the reasons he had long hair.  
  
There's really no reason for people to notice us: We look like   
an ordinary guy, and girl...."  
  
Ordinary?!   
  
Kaneda had to look at Ranma-chan now, up and down: "Why DO you   
wear Chinese clothes?"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
-  
  
The first period was over, the teacher was already gone to his   
next class. Everybody had a few minutes to break from the school   
routine and get into their own. To some that meant snacking. To   
others that meant playing games, either in their desks or out. To   
most it meant socializing, and most in a friendly fashion. To a   
very few, it meant catching up on homework.  
  
Kaneda and Ranma-chan were not in that last minority. She said,   
"We actually got away with missin' school yesterday."  
  
The brown haired Hiroshi Tsujitani smiled at the cute redhead,   
"This is Furinkan!"  
  
On the other side of Ranma-chan, Daisuke Koyasu said, "Yeah!   
Don't ask questions, just enjoy."  
  
Other students took glances in their direction, and muttered   
comments among themselves. Most were about how a babe like Ranma   
could get stuck with losers. Only the reminder that Kaneda   
wasn't a loser when it came to fighting kept them at a distance   
for the present.  
  
Kaneda had moved up from his desk a couple of rows in front of   
Ranma-chan. Not wanting to irritate Ranma-chan any more, he   
squatted to her eye-level, "This place isn't as strict as most   
schools I've heard of. I sometimes wonder what would happen if I   
didn't turn in my homework."   
  
Hiroshi thought that was a stupid question, "What do you think   
would happen."  
  
Daisuke said, "Yeah! The same thing as happens to us: Bad   
grades."  
  
Ranma-chan groaned, "You mean I do gotta study? I've been on the   
road so much a my life, I'm surprised I'm even allowed in a HIGH   
school."  
  
Kaneda brightened, "I can be your tutor."  
  
Ranma-chan glowered at him, "So I can owe you?" That hurt   
Kaneda. Without what he'd done to her already, he decided to   
back off for a while.  
  
Daisuke said, "*I* could give you special lessons."  
  
Hiroshi said, "Idiot! You just told her you get bad grades."  
  
Daisuke said, "Yeah, but she just said I knew more than she   
does!"  
  
Sayuri Toshio broke in, "But she's not dumb enough to think you   
could help her with anything."  
  
Yuka Sudou said to Kaneda, "She's YOUR fiancée. Why aren't you   
keeping guys like this away from her?"  
  
Kaneda said, "Uh, well... They're my friends?"  
  
Yuka said, "Boys!"  
  
Sayuri said to Ranma-chan, "Don't worry, Ran-chan, we're here to   
rescue you!"  
  
As the girls moved in on her, Ranma-chan looked up at the clock,   
"Where's the next teacher? What's wrong with the clock!?! It   
says barely three minutes have passed!"   
  
Hiroshi said, "This is Furinkan!"  
  
On the other side from the two girls, Daisuke said,   
Yeah! Don't ask questions, just enjoy."  
  
Ranma-chan did not enjoy the next two, long minutes. Only the   
distractions of the stupid questions of the guys saved her from   
the intelligent ones of the girls.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Unlike free time, class time seemed to go by quickly. Too   
quickly for Ranma-chan: Not only was Ranma-chan not following   
what the teacher was saying she knew what was going to follow   
the teacher.  
  
Sayuki and Yuka were out of their seats as soon as the bell   
rang. They got to Ranma-chan before Hiroshi and Daisuke, or   
Kaneda. They picked up the conversation where they'd left off,   
"You still haven't told us why you're wearing clothes like   
that," Yuka said.  
  
Sayuri asked, "The rumor about Kaneda making you wear them isn't   
true, is it?"  
  
Daisuke said, "Kaneda'd never do something that stupid with a   
girl with a body like Ranma's!"  
  
Ranma, using her martial arts speed and skill, got out of her   
desk before she could be surrounded again. "No! I just got back   
from a training mission in China." She was at a loss whether to   
go into her attack-or-defend stance.   
  
Hearing a topic they could get into, more of the other guys in   
class joined in: "That's right! I've seen costumes like that in   
Hong Kong kung fu movies!"/ "But not in modern ones, dummy!   
Jackie Chan only wears Chinese clothes in period ones!"/   
"Maybe not Jackie Chan, but others! --It's like a...gi, a   
uniform for disciples of the, uh, Shao-lin Temple!"/ "Ha! The   
big expert."/ "Well, I think it's unpatriotic. She should wear   
the kind of gi the Japanese martial artists are known for."  
  
Daisuke's eyes lit up, "Yes: Like Chun-li's gi in "Street   
Fighter"!" Then he added, "--Or Mai's in "King of Fighters"!"   
thinking of one that showed more flesh.  
  
Hiroshi reminded him, "They wear Chinese-style costumes."  
  
Daisuke told him, "But they were made by Japanese!"  
  
Hiroshi only disagreed with his friend's logic in, "The Mai's of   
"Fatal Fury" is way better."   
  
Sayuri, disgusted, said, "OR she could just wear a costume like   
Sakura of "Street Fighter"? At LEAST it would be a 'fuku'   
uniform."  
  
Before they got outnumbered, other girls reinforced Sayuri and   
Yuka. They got between the guys and the new girl. "Never mind   
them. You know how boys are."  
  
Ranma-chan thought, This is how boys are? Of COURSE she'd been   
around guys far than she had girls. Most of them had been   
adults: martial artists, monks, priests, and the odd-job   
employer. But she had had chances to meet other kids. Most of   
them had been boys. In the more traditional parts of Japan, her   
being a poor stranger with a strange dialect and strange clothes   
didn't encourage much contact with girls. If she did, that was   
ANOTHER excuse for the boys to fight her. She was a trained   
fighter. If they could beat her, they would prove themselves,   
with no disgrace in losing. She also had fights forced on her   
when she HAD gone to school. And it was an all-boys school more   
often than not. Again, always being the new kid didn't help.   
  
Ranma-chan was beginning to realize just how much of an outsider   
she'd allowed herself to be. Of course she knew guys were   
interested in girls. But she wasn't. She'd never followed too   
closely what they had said. She was kept out of their cliques,   
anyway. Since she didn't allow herself to be interested in their   
patter, she hadn't realized just how important girls were to   
them.  
  
But, now, she was no longer an outsider. She was at the CENTER   
of their thoughts.  
  
Ranma-chan told them, "Back off, jerks!"  
  
One girl in the back buffing her nails was amused, "I think it's   
cute guys think like that."   
  
Ranma-chan exclaimed, "What kind of a nut is she!?"   
  
Yuka told her, "Never mind the class-pageant-contestant." It was   
only then Ranma-chan noticed how beautiful that girl in the back   
was.   
  
Sayuri said, "Yuumei hasn't won as many as she claims. She has a   
Miss Congeniality problem."  
  
Moving to keep shrug her shoulders away from either of the   
girls' friendly touches, Ranma-chan asked, "A what?"  
  
Yuka explained, "She isn't congenial."  
  
Sayuri said, "At least to girls."  
  
A guy cried, "Cat fight!"  
  
Ranma-chan turned pale. It, it's just an expression. No need to   
panic.   
  
Yuumei said with a haughty air, "I DON'T cat fight."  
  
Kaneda finally broke through the wall of guys; "Ranma-chan   
doesn't cat fight. It'd be an unfair fight."  
  
Yuumei said, "You've got that right."  
  
Ranma-chan pulled Kaneda towards her by the front of his white   
shirt. "Where have you been, pervert!?"  
  
Kaneda asked, "Pervert!?!"  
  
Ranma-chan used him as a shield between her and where most of   
the class were, "Yeah: Pervert! You enjoyed watchin',   
didn'tcha!?!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
At the end of the third period it was Ranma-chan that was the   
first one out of the seat with her bookbag. She DID not want to   
be trapped with people, of either sex. Being an outsider all of   
her life had only prepared to BE an outsider. But it looked like   
that remaining one would be harder as a girl.  
  
Using her speed and agility, Ranma hopped from one desk to   
another, over a girl, and off the heads of two guys who had   
stopped to watch her bouncing body parts. Another desk, and   
she was out the door with a clear head start.   
  
Kaneda ran after her, "You know we have another class before   
lunch?!" I didn't find out if her travels took her to foreign   
countries! "--And we EAT that in the classroom!" Japanese   
school kids dreamed of a cafeteria system. And the best this   
school had was a school store.  
  
Ranma-chan wasn't about to tell anybody where she was going.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
By the time Kaneda had reached the hall Ranma was gone from   
sight. He looked both ways, and up, and checked to see if any   
windows were open. Kaneda said through gritted teeth, "I hope   
she hasn't skipped school again."  
  
He took off for the nearest stairwell. Then he turned around,   
"The lav!"   
  
When Kaneda got there he had to stop. He punched the air in   
frustration, "She went into the girls, I bet!!" Only the   
smallest voice tried to argue Ranma was a guy.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
To go into the girls' restroom, Kaneda had to first use the   
boys' to become a girl.  
  
A student in a buttoned-up navy plebe coat with an armband blew   
his whistle. "Halt! You are in violation of the rules of this   
school!"   
  
The black haired girl had just come out of the boys' lav on her   
way to the girls'. It took her a second to realize, "Since when   
does Furinkan have hall monitors?!"  
  
The boy said in the manner of a soldier, "You are ordered to   
report to the infirmary."  
  
Kaneda glanced at the windows to the outside. It was only the   
third floor. --Then: "Infirmary!?" Maybe Ranma DID jump out a   
window.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Kane-chan had been caught out of uniform; that is, in a boys'   
uniform. That was how she found herself now in a Furinkan girls'   
uniform. And the dress code included the requirement that girls   
wear a slip, bra and panties. The thought that she was now a   
GIRL only lessened her shame.  
  
Of course, this wasn't the first time Kane-chan'd worn a dress.   
But it had always been for a better reason than this one:   
  
The guy who'd been acting like a hall monitor said to the School   
nurse, "See, Aunt Hatsumi? I staked out the area of the   
yesterday's disturbance. That's how it's done at Komatane High!"   
  
The attractive brown-haired woman in the white lab coat said,   
"And I DO think the rules should be enforced more around here.   
But Koshiro, you're not a student here. You're not even in the   
correct uniform." She looked at her nephew more closely. "And   
shouldn't you be out of your winter uniform by now?"  
  
Not a hall monitor; not even a student? Kane-chan felt stupid.   
She tried to sneak behind the nurse and get her pants and shirt.   
Once she had them on, this strange girl could just disappear.   
  
The nephew was an establishment-type clean through, "Aunt   
Hatsumi."  
  
The nurse turned to talk to Kane-chan, "Is that your uniform,   
Miss?"  
  
Kane-chan went on offense, "Does it look like it belongs to me?"  
  
The nurse picked it up from where she'd placed it over the back   
of her chair, "As a matter of fact, it does. It fit you quite   
well. I take it you find a need to wear a boys' uniform?"  
  
Kane-chan frowned gripping the skirt she was in. She still   
wanted to avoid answering, "Why do girls have to wear STUPID   
clothes!?! Why can't they wear normal ones, like guys?!"  
  
The nurse said, "I would've thought you would know about   
hormones by now. And it's not just those of the males. You HAVE   
taken gym class?" Kane-chan just nodded, Let her think I mean   
the girls'. "The girls' shorts are that short and tight because   
that's the way THEY wanted them. They weren't that way when I   
took gym. And my mother wore bloomers."  
  
She saw how Kane-chan's face had gotten red. She saw the mixed   
emotions of anger, disgust and modesty but missed arousal.   
Sympathetically, she said, "At least you don't have to wear a   
mini fuku."   
  
The nephew smiled, "Like Street Fighter's Sakura!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
After a battle of wills, the nurse let Kane-chan go without   
finding out her name. She was satisfied that she had gotten the   
girl into the proper uniform. "But the next time I see you not   
meeting the school dress code, I WILL report you." Kane-chan,   
though, didn't think that was the real reason she escaped. The   
nurse probably didn't want the administration finding out about   
her nephew being on school grounds.  
  
Kane-chan learned a lesson at school, Rules can work against   
those who want them. Still, she WOULD have liked to have turned   
in the fink that had gotten her into this dress.  
  
With no guys' uniform, Akane the unregistered student couldn't   
return to Kaneda's class. There was only one thing she could   
think to do. It had worked before.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
The quietest way into the house was through the kitchen door.   
Kane-chan looked in the window, first. It WAS too early for   
Kasumi to be in there, right? But that left getting to the   
stairs and then to her room. Kane-chan had no idea where   
Kasumi's schedule had her. With any luck, she'd be out grocery   
shopping.  
  
But first she had to get some water to change her body after   
she'd changed her clothes...  
  
And that's when Kasumi walked in, "Oh, Akane!"  
  
Kane-chan's nervousness made her slosh the water out of the   
glass onto herself.   
  
Kaneda cried as he grew wider than the clothes. The elastics   
were stretched to their limits; the seams of the panties, slip   
and dress split. Finally, flexing his muscles, the constricting   
bra's fasteners gave. And so did some of the seams.  
  
Kasumi blushed, "Oh, my!" and turned around. She continued to   
keep her back on him as he hurried out the door for the stairs.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Fifteen minutes later, Kasumi knocked on her young brother's   
door, "Kaneda? You haven't given me the uniform to mend."  
  
It took a moment before he could find his voice, "You,   
remember?"  
  
Kasumi said, "If you mean about...Akane, yes, I do. May I come   
in?"  
  
When he didn't say no, she opened the door and came in, nodding   
politely as she crossed the threshold. Kaneda was dressed in his   
typical afterschool clothes of white socks, loose blue jeans and   
a red striped shirt. He stayed where his restless movement had   
last placed him, at his desk's chair. He couldn't look his   
sister in the eyes.  
  
Kasumi saw the ripped girls' uniform and lingerie where it had   
been kicked. She sighed, "Oh, my, that will take no little   
sewing." She went and picked them up, "It is not yours. May I   
assume it's the school's property?" Kasumi gave her only the   
smallest of gestures. "We will just have to replace it. I still   
have my uniforms. Since it should be in your size, we will give   
one I've altered for you."  
  
NOW Kaneda looked at her: " "Altered"??"  
  
The garments over her arm she walked over towards him, "It was   
mother's idea. I learned to sew mainly from watching her alter   
Nabiki's and my hand-me-downs so that they could fit you...if   
you decided you wanted to be a girl." She smiled. "She didn't   
want us to know, but she even bought new things just for "Akane"   
when she could afford it. They were her "whims"."  
  
Kaneda was stunned, "I, never knew any of that."  
  
Kasumi sat on his bed. "She knew how important having a son was   
to Father. She already had her daughters. As long as you were   
happy being a boy, that's the way she said you should be   
treated. But she told me to pretend you were somebody else when   
you were a girl. That way you we would not have to think of   
Father's wishes, but yours. I always did my best to treat you   
like a girl then, so you could see if you liked it better."  
  
Kaneda's ears burned red. He frowned, "Well, I--" didn't. He   
didn't finish the sentence. There HAD been times he liked being   
thought of as a girl. But he had Dad and the other guys around   
him to think about. He had to measure up to what they wanted.   
The things he didn't like about being a girl did help him   
convince himself he liked being a guy better. Mom and Kasumi by   
treating him differently had helped him see that.  
  
Still, he had always been self-conscious as a girl, and afraid   
that people would find out. What if she HAD been able to   
separate Akane from Kaneda; would she have liked being a girl?   
  
Kaneda looked back at her, "So all this time you've just been   
pretending not to recognize me?"  
  
Kasumi smiled, "It was simpler. But Ranma doesn't make things   
simple."  
  
Kaneda nodded, "That's for sure."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
The clock said school was out.  
  
Kaneda, now in his yellow kempo-uniform, was out in the dojo   
preparing for when Ranma came home. He was going through his   
katas. They were a little better than the standard routines most   
martial artists used. If Ranma WERE like most martial artists,   
he would stand a chance. He frowned, "Compared to her, I'm slow   
and clumsy." He still had his pride. It hurt to admit that.  
  
But this was the School of Anything-Goes. The way Mr. Saotome   
acted reminded him of his dad's lesson: "Pride does not feed the   
evil, little bulldog in master's clothing."   
  
Kaneda took a deep breath, and start coming up with a new line   
of attack for Ranma. I need something to throw her off   
balance. "When you're cranky you don't look that cute, you   
know!" Okay, it's a lie. But she doesn't WANT to be cute, yet.   
If I told her she WAS cute, it'd only increase her anger. And   
THAT would just add energy to her martial arts skills!  
  
Just then the door to the dojo opened, and a hand with a letter   
came through it. Nabiki was holding it, "Here you go!" she   
smiled.  
  
On the envelope was written, "To Ranma Saotome".  
  
Kaneda asked her, "Why are you showing me this?"  
  
Nabiki smiled, "I thought you might want to be on hand: To run   
interference. Ranma still might show up as a guy."  
  
Kaneda looked at the challenge letter and nodded, "At least it's   
not addressed to "Kei Tendou". Fighting under a name other than   
his own could be the straw that breaks the martial artist's   
back." He hadn't actually answered to it this morning.  
  
Nabiki recited, " "To Ranma Saotome; Please come to the second   
field of Furinkan High School this evening at 5:36 pm"."  
  
Kaneda said, "It SOUNDS like a duel."  
  
Nabiki agreed, "You know Kuno's a real sore loser. He's out for   
blood."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
But Kaneda didn't wanting Ranma to think he was trying to take   
over his fight. His temper had already caused him to interfere   
in one, that morning. He hurried into the house to change out of   
his gi.  
  
Kasumi was just delivering a load of laundry upstairs. On top   
was one of his school uniforms. He quickly ducked into the   
living room and put that on.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Kaneda was there behind the school ahead of the appointed time.   
He spent that time first hiding then searching for Ranma.   
Finally, he stopped to scratch his head, "Don't tell me Ranma   
didn't hear about it? When Nabiki checked, the class told her   
Ranma had returned to class." He frowned again at his how Ranma   
had made a fool out of him. "She just disappeared during the   
free times."  
  
That DIDN'T explain why she hadn't returned home. "She hasn't   
taken off entirely!?!" Kaneda realized that was a real   
possibility. Ranma had spent her whole life on the road. She   
didn't NEED a place to call home. He cursed her martial arts   
abilities, now. "She can protect herself. And that has got to   
give her the confidence to face the challenge of going it   
alone."   
  
Kaneda almost fell over the sign in the field. It wasn't made   
like any of the normal school signs. It looked like-- Kaneda   
hurried to read the panda's sign, [To change the home rules,   
change home ground!] Baseball? Why is it doing referring to   
baseball?!  
  
Something was thrown towards him. The sudden movement caused his   
hand to go out to attack or catch it. It was a water balloon.  
  
Splash! It was a hot water balloon.  
  
This time not only didn't she change her body, she changed her   
clothes. She looked in shock at the Furinkan girls' uniform she   
found on her. "How, how...?"  
  
And somebody was coming! ...Speaking poetry? "A better prize,   
perhaps?" Kuno said. "For it so falls out what we prize not the   
worth whiles we enjoy it. But being lacked and lost, why then we   
rack the value. Then we find the virtue that possession would   
not show whiles it was ours."  
  
He stopped before her. "It is now exactly 5:36 pm, the moment   
when the sunset is at its most beautiful: For it is the raising   
young star of the high school kendo world who shines before   
you." In a show of false modesty, he had turned his head away.   
"It is the one renowned as the Blue Thunder. Tatewaki Kuno."   
  
Kane-chan's history of conflict with the idiot pushed all other   
thoughts from her mind, "Hey, where's that stick you're always   
waving around?"  
  
Kuno put his face in profile again, and said quietly, "I have no   
need of it."  
  
Kane-chan thought, That's different. "Ha-nh! Pretty confident,   
aren't you?"  
  
Kuno said, "Confident enough to give you..." And he threw   
something at her: "This!"  
  
Like a fool she'd caught yesterday's gauntlet before knowing   
what it was; like a fool she caught this.   
  
It was a paper wrapped bouquet of a dozen red roses.   
  
Before she could recover, Kuno was already walking away. "Akane   
Tendou, My Wild Haired Girl..." He looked over his shoulder   
directly at her. "...I love you." And he continued his dramatic   
walk away from her.  
  
He was almost gone before Kane-chan could think to move.   
  
But she couldn't move. She fell to her bare knees in the dress,   
the bouquet of flowers still cradled in her arms.   
  
  
The End of this chapter.   
  
  
[Note: Komatane High will be the school of "Futaba-kun   
Change!". Future tense. No crossover is planned.] 


	6. 06: The Answer

Ranma & Kaneda  
By Ron Dow75  
From an idea by James M. Zema,  
Unauthorized, but allowed.  
  
  
06: The Answer   
  
  
The wind blew the black haired and the Furinkan girls'   
uniform of the girl kneeling in the grassy field. A   
paper-wrapped bouquet of long-stemmed red roses where   
cradled in her arms. She was in a daze. Never before in   
her life had she felt like such a girl.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
A large, handled pan dropped from a tree several   
meters from the girl. A black-and-white panda climbed   
down it. A water balloon was carefully held in its mouth.   
When its hind legs touched the ground, it stood upright.  
  
It then took the balloon with the hot water inside   
between its front paws and easily popped it.   
  
A wet Genma Saotome in his kempo-gi replaced the animal.   
His gaze was fixed on the girl, 'Akane Saotome'. "It   
appears Nabiki Tendou's plan has worked. I hope so. I'd   
hate to think I had to rent my panda from out for   
something that didn't."   
  
He took one last good look at the girl, then turned to   
loose himself among the other trees.   
  
He returned to pick up the pan, "Kasumi will need this to   
prepare her wonderful meals. And I may need it to hold   
more hot water balloons."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
On his way back to the Tendou's, Genma thought of earlier   
that day:  
  
In the late afternoon, the panda was sitting halfway   
outside the garden hall doorway. It was waiting for the   
roto-rooterman to finish clearing the drains so it, at   
last, could have a hot bath. That's where Soun's youngest   
daughter had found him. Nabiki, still in her school   
uniform, said, "Mr. Saotome, I have information that may   
interest you greatly. It concerns your, uh, son: Ranma."   
  
"Bran-ba?"  
  
Nabiki, "But as the saying goes, "One does not really   
know the value of something, until one has to pay for   
it". I offer you this information to you for 1,000 yen.   
If you don't have the money, I will take it in services."  
  
The panda frowned at her. "Bbbraa," it grumbled.   
  
Before the customer let itself off the hook, Nabiki   
produced an envelope with [To Ranma Saotome] written on   
it. She told the panda, "It's a challenge letter." The   
saleswoman in her held up her hand to hold off any   
comment, "I know Ranma has received letters before, but   
THIS boy thinks Ranma is a girl."  
  
The panda suddenly showed interest, "Berar!?!"  
  
Nabiki kept it out of its reach, "That would mean Ranma   
would have to answer the challenge as a girl, wouldn't   
it?" Receiving no denial from the animal, she continued   
on, "This boy ALSO believes that if he loses, Ranma will   
have to go out on a date with him."  
  
The panda's eyes widened.   
  
She tempted the panda with the envelope, "The usual   
information of when and where the challenge will be is   
all in here. Now, do we have a bargain?"  
  
A large sweatdrop formed on the panda's head. But it   
nodded its agreement.  
  
As she handed the envelope to the panda, she said, "By   
the way, I couldn't find Ranma. Officially, he doesn't   
know about the challenge."  
  
The panda glared at the girl. It looked like it might   
take a swipe at her.   
  
Nabiki smiled, "But that doesn't mean 'she' might not   
hear it from others. And it DEFINITELY doesn't mean the   
boy in question won't challenge 'her' again. If anything,   
Kuno-baby is persistent.   
  
"Unless, that is, there's somebody ELSE to take Ranma's   
place in his heart."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
In the florescent streetlight, Genma in the present shook   
his head, "Imagine selling out one of your family like   
that." He had a policy of forgetting about those times   
he'd sold his son. "But I can't say I disapprove of it in   
this instance. I have overlooked Ranma's current   
challenge because I have faith that I have raised a true   
man among men."  
  
He frowned behind his glasses, "But I can't say same   
about how Soun has raised HIS son. From everything I've   
seen, Kaneda is just as undisciplined as any typical boy   
you find these decadent days." His expression went from   
disapproval to grim approval of what he'd done about it,   
"And since she isn't a man, she might as well be a girl.   
I've told Ranma that often enough."  
  
He paused on the other side of the Tendou's fortress   
gate. "But that's not the kind of 'girl' Ranma needs.   
More than ever, his woman has to be like his mother, one   
who won't blur the clear line between the sexes. Not some   
cross-dressing...." Genma's adjustment to the curse had   
been sidetracked during this early, fragile stage. While   
he had held fast to Ranma's true gender, he couldn't look   
beyond Kaneda-kun's normal outer appearance. And the boy   
they had to live with couldn't look beyond Ranma's girl   
form. Genma recognized a crush. But Ranma hadn't   
responded by beating that crap out of the boy. It made   
Genma start to question his faith in Ranma.   
  
He paused. He took a deep breath, and released it.   
"Remember, you're the guest in this house. Like it or   
not, Kaneda is as yet still Soun's son and heir."  
  
Genma smiled, "Meanwhile, there are two daughters who   
know how to be female." (Though, he was having doubts   
about Nabiki.) He strolled through the gate, his eyes   
seeing a bright future, "And once Ranma is married to a   
Tendou girl, then we can worry about WHO is to be the   
heir to the dojo."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
The flowers left on the field, Kane-chan hurried through   
the back gate of her family's compound? She closed it   
with her back. She rested against it for a moment to   
catch her breath.   
  
As she did, she glared down at the thing she had on. It   
was too dark to see clearly in the shadow of the   
compound's wall, but she could certainly feel it. "Stupid   
dress! Stupid wind-resistance! Flapping around like that!   
If girls want to run around with naked legs, why can't   
they just wear shorts!?" It was a complaint she'd had   
before. The only thing that kept it from being worse was   
that she wasn't wearing skimpy panties. She still had on   
her usual boxers.   
  
She stood up; she was getting back to a comfortable   
breathing rate. She put her hand on her chest, "Ohr,   
running without a bra is never a good idea." She had been   
a girl often enough to know their practical uses. But a   
guy can't wear one that'd do any good for a girl. Even if   
I could, I'd never survive what it would do to my   
reputation. I might as well BE a girl, then.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kane-chan was so mad, she slammed the kitchen door and   
didn't even acknowledge Kasumi's greeting. (She had,   
though, kicked the girls' sneakers off outside the door.)  
  
As she was leaving, Kasumi told her, "Supper will be   
ready soon! Will you tell Nabiki to clear the table?"  
  
Kane-chan turned from her way to the bedrooms upstairs,   
and went to the family room.  
  
Kane-chan stood there for a moment, focusing her   
animosity.   
  
Nabiki was on the other side of the table. Her books were   
spread out on it. One of them wasn't a schoolbook. It was   
an accounting ledger. She looked up from the other side   
of the table and offered, "A yen for your thoughts."  
  
Kane-chan stormed across to where she'd been obviously   
waiting for HER (female), "I THOUGHT you said Ranma was   
going to be there!?!"  
  
Nabiki sat back on a hip, tucking her pants-covered knees   
under her. "Did you actually HEAR me say I got the   
message to Ranma? I think not, though I tried." THAT,   
after all, was what Kuno-baby contracted her to do (for a   
nice fee of 1,000 yen). "I DID tell your classmates to   
give her the message if they saw her." Of COURSE there   
was nothing in the verbal contract that said she had to   
make actually contact with Ranma.  
  
Kane-chan bent over her and held up a small fist, "So you   
decided you'd deliver the next-best-thing to Kuno!?"   
  
AND informed Kuno ahead of time. Nabiki kept her poker   
face, "I delivered the next-best-opponent. How was I to   
know you were going to show up as a girl?" And the   
loophole was she didn't KNOW. But because Akane did,   
she'd get to keep the 10,000-yen finder's fee from Kuno-  
baby.  
  
Kane-chan drew back the fist she used to break cinder   
blocks, "I ought to!"  
  
Nabiki said calmly, "Uh, uh! Remember, "The strong should   
not pick on the weak"."  
  
Kane-chan said sourly, Nabiki weak!? "Only physically.   
Only physically." She HAD been tempted to see how close   
she could come to her sister's face. But, in the end,   
Nabiki WAS her sister.  
  
Kane-chan turned and stomped out of the room. Rrr! If I   
did try it, I KNOW she wouldn't give me the satisfaction   
of even pretending to flinch!  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kasumi was in Kane-chan's way, wiping off her hands on a   
dishtowel. Kasumi asked, "Your fight didn't go well,   
Akane?"  
  
A red-faced Kane-chan turned sideways to get by her older   
sister, "There wasn't a fight."   
  
Kasumi said, "I'm sorry to hear that. I know how   
important fighting is to you."   
  
Kane-chan walked backwards as she told her, "Fighting is   
not important to me: It's important to the dojo! This is   
kempo! What do you think we're selling!? Fighting is   
advertising!" In kempo, technique came first, then the   
applications.   
  
Kasumi said, "It was because you were a girl, wasn't it,   
Akane?"  
  
Kane-chan said ironically, "Oh, you could say that." She   
spun around and picked up her pace.  
  
Kasumi followed, "If you'd like to talk about it..."  
  
Kane-chan stayed long enough on the stairs to say, "Look,   
Kasumi, I'm just not comfortable talking to you like   
this. I have to get out of these clothes, and out of this   
body. If you have anything to say, say it to your   
brother."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
In her red-and-white striped shirt, Kane-chan pulled at   
the Kaneda's jeans. "Hm-rr! They're a size   
larger around, but they don't hit the hips and butt   
right." But they were tight along what to her were thick   
thighs. Below them, they became loose. "And look how long   
they are. I'm nearly 18 cms/7 inches shorter. It's a   
wonder I haven't trip over my pants every time I change!"   
  
She looked for her belt. She found that the jeans wanted   
to pinch in the wrong places. "What's wrong all of a   
sudden!? Any other time I just have to cinch up my belt,   
and...."  
  
It hit her: "Kasumi!!!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
"Kasumi!!" On the way downstairs, the jeans told Kane-  
chan visiting the lav was her first priority.   
  
While she waited for the hot water to come out of the   
sink's tap, she also realized, "Why didn't I do this this   
afternoon!? THEN I wouldn't have changed in front of   
Kasumi and tore that uniform. And if I HADN'T done all   
of that, I bet I wouldn't have ended up in a dress in front   
of Kuno!!   
  
"Rrrr! It IS a curse! If it can't get somebody else to   
get you wet, it makes you stupid enough to do it to   
yourself!!"  
  
Out of sheer frustration, she grabbed the sides of the   
sink and dunked her head in the steaming hot water. "Ow!   
I've got to remember to remember! Ow! Remember,   
Stupid! Ow! Don't forget!..."   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Kasumi was bringing a tray with platters of eel teriyaki   
and vegetables from the kitchen into the family room when   
Kaneda came bounding down the stairs. "Kasumi!! I bet you   
know the reason I met Kuno in a dress today!"  
  
Kasumi paused, "I don't know the reason." She smiled,   
and headed into the family room, "I just know it works."  
  
The redhaired Kaneda followed her, "Aha! You did do it!"  
  
His dad said, "Now, Kaneda, that's no way to talk to your   
older sister."  
  
Kaneda stopped to frown at the man. "Welcome back to the   
land of the conscious. It took you long enough to come   
out of your 'trance'." Now that he knew part of the   
truth, he wasn't convinced Dad's spells weren't just an   
excuse not to face him with the rest of it.  
  
Kasumi asked, "Please, Kaneda! That is no way to talk to   
Father. And in front of company, too."  
  
Kaneda looked. All he saw was Mr. Saotome. "Ranma's not   
here."  
  
Nabiki said, "That's obvious."  
  
Kaneda told her, "Quiet! I'm not through with you,   
Nabiki! But first," he strode to where his oneesan was   
serving supper, "How did you get that dress on me?!"  
  
His dad said, "Kaneda! Kasumi would never think to make   
you wear a dress! She knows you're a man!"  
  
Kaneda wanted to yell, "Only because I'm, I am...." He   
couldn't yell. He knew he was cursed, but he was usually   
a girl when he felt most cursed.  
  
Soun Tendou started getting that far away look in his   
eye. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about,   
son."  
  
Kaneda did yell, "Son!?!" He COULD be angry for a   
lifetime of silence from a man who was supposed to be his   
male role model.  
  
Soun hid behind his forearm and cried, "He yelled at me!"  
  
Kasumi stopped serving. (Unfortunately she'd set the tray   
down in front Mr. Saotome.) "Kaneda! I will not answer   
ANY questions until you apologize to Father."  
  
Gritting his teeth in familiar frustration, Kaneda said,   
"I, formally, apologize." But I'm not sorry.  
  
Kasumi smiled for him, "That's better." She turned to   
their houseguest, "Mr. Saotome? What happens to your   
clothes when you turn into a panda?"  
  
His mouth full, Genma Saotome looked up. He swallowed. He   
then smiled, and orated, "Ah! That's an interesting   
question. I've wondered that myself since I fell into   
that spring. I DO know that they are the clothes I was   
wearing before I changed. See this?" he asked, pushing   
out his gi coat with a thumb under the opening, "This is   
a stain that I got eating barbequed octopus balls."  
  
Kasumi looked, "Oh, my. I'll have to clean that for you."  
  
Still upset, Kaneda said, "What does he having barbequed   
octopus balls have to do with ME wearing a dress!?!"  
  
Dad said, "There he goes again! Where have I failed!   
Genma, do not think my son is like this! It's just a   
momentary aberration! You know about teenagers and their   
fads!" Then he broke down and started weeping, "But   
dresses!??"  
  
Kaneda defended himself, "It wasn't MY idea to wear the   
damned dress!!"  
  
Nabiki played audience and impassive critic. "I hope this   
is confusing enough. How many tangled conversations can   
be followed at the same time?"  
  
Kasumi said, "I will admit it was my idea. I replaced the   
duplicate--"  
  
Kaneda interrupted, " "Duplicate"!?!  
  
Kaneda got a pleased smile, "Yes. I've made sure that   
you've had two sets of just about all of your outfits.   
One that will fit you, as you are now, and a second for   
when you...." She looked at her still crying father, and   
didn't finish the sentence. He decided to take it   
outside.   
  
Nabiki said, "And THAT'S why I don't have a bigger   
clothing allowance."   
  
Kasumi gently chided her younger sister, "Now, Nabiki,   
you know I've been very frugal. Most of those outfits are   
the same as he was wearing when he was younger. That way   
I just had to take those Kaneda had outgrown and altered   
them to fit, uh, Kaneda's alternative form." Though out   
in the garden, her father could hear. That is, if he   
cared to.   
  
Nabiki accused, "But it wasn't that way for a couple of   
years, there!"  
  
Kasumi said, "Yes, there was a time when Kaneda was   
shorter than, uh, er, boys of that age."  
  
Nabiki smirked, "And more developed."   
  
Kasumi said, "That was the time that Kaneda started to   
need outfits of different sizes. That was the time I   
started my duplication project. It was encouraging that   
Kaneda appreciated my work."  
  
Kaneda said, "Appreciated it?? I didn't even know you   
were doing it!"  
  
Kasumi smiled on him, "I just had to give you the idea   
'if only'. You knew where to look for a change of outfits   
when you needed one."  
  
Kaneda thought about it. " "...know where to look for a   
change of" --You mean in the--" Suddenly he stopped   
himself, as he glared at Nabiki.  
  
Nabiki said, "You don't think I haven't known about the   
locked chest for years?"  
  
Kasumi said, "But things are different, now, Nabiki. I   
expect you to give me ALL of the keys you've made. You've   
respected Father's and my wishes up to now, as far as I   
know. But with the change of circumstances, I can't be   
sure you'll continue doing so."  
  
Nabiki was about to talk her way into keeping one key,   
but decided not to. She hung her head, "Yes, Kasumi." If   
she pushed it, the loopholes would be closed.  
  
Genma said, after finishing off his, Ranma's and the   
still crying Soun's meals, "But where do MY clothes go to   
and from?"  
  
Nabiki said, "Isn't it obvious? It has to be your   
traveling pack. Isn't that where your clothes would be   
when you're not using them?"  
  
Kasumi told her sister, "And you are NOT to replace   
Ranma's things with anything that doesn't belong there,   
either."  
  
Nabiki said, "It wouldn't do any good, anyway. Ranma   
hasn't gotten the idea of 'if only'. Those Chinese   
clothes allow for quite a bit of growth and shrinkage."   
She got her smirk back, "Not to mention, development."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Kaneda followed Kasumi into the kitchen, where they could   
talk without interruption. "Okay, Kasumi, why don't I   
remember you giving me this "if only", or whatever,   
idea?"  
  
Kasumi said, "We can talk later. I have to serve supper."  
  
He planted himself in front of the doorway, "I've waited   
five years. I'm not waiting any longer."  
  
Kasumi stopped, "But you said you just found out." But   
she sighed, "Oh, alright." Kaneda took the tray with its   
bowls of anmitsu gelatin and held it for her. Kasumi   
brought her mind around to the topic at hand; she then   
said, "You were complaining that your clothes weren't   
fitting you right. They were making you uncomfortable.   
But you were my brother at the time, and as far as I   
could see there was no problem there. You couldn't bring   
yourself to admit that the clothes were only ill-fitting   
when you were," she reflexively slowed down out of   
concern other people would hear, "a girl." Kaneda had   
been on of those people. She hadn't wanted to embarrass   
him. It had to be his idea to let others know.   
  
Kaneda's face reddened. He barely remembered it. But he   
was familiar with why he didn't want to mention the girl.   
When he was a kid, just about the only time he became a   
girl was by accident. Then the most visible change was   
the color of his hair. It went from a red that almost no   
Japanese he knew had to the color most Japanese had. He   
was no longer different from others, but he WAS different   
from himself. He was no longer Kaneda Tendou. He was   
somebody else, a stranger to everybody he knew. There   
were times he liked that. There were other times when he   
felt like just a nameless little kid lost in the "sea of   
black hair". Invisible.   
  
The easiest way to become a somebody again was to find   
cold water and become the flame-haired Kaneda. The black-  
haired girl, until Wednesday night, had remained nameless,   
and lost. She was like a person who hadn't been properly   
buried. A ghost. To mention her was to invite bad luck.   
It was bad enough she could possess him. His ideas about   
the girl had only become more sophisticated with age.   
  
Kasumi continued with her account of how Kaneda got   
clothes that fit no matter the body, "I said, "If only   
you could get proper-fitting clothes from the same place   
you got your hammers"."  
  
Kaneda had a pang of guilt. Yes, of course he would have   
preferred to forget Kasumi had said that. She didn't   
approve of him using wooden mallets. But I only use them   
when my martial arts skills aren't enough. I AM from the   
school of Anything-Goes was his justification. Of course   
the mallets had long since disappeared from the ancient   
tool chest. Kaneda wasn't sure WHERE they were when he   
wasn't using them.  
  
Kasumi continued, "I placed a change of clothes that were   
a size larger in the old tool chest. I then, uh,   
'accidentally', I'm afraid, spilled some hot water on   
you. You were so upset at the time you apparently didn't   
notice the switch. But it did show you had gotten the   
idea."  
  
Kaneda said, "So you went ahead and started making   
duplicate outfits for me." Suddenly he smiled. "And not   
one of them were for a girl."  
  
Kasumi retrieved the tray from Kaneda, "That's right. As   
far as everybody knew, you were meant to be a guy."   
  
She was out the kitchen door before Kaneda snapped back   
to the present, "Oh-h, no!" And he went after her,   
"Kasumi, just because you now know I was meant to be a   
girl, doesn't mean you HAVE to treat me like a girl!"  
  
Even before he got into the family room, Dad made it   
known he'd heard, "Kaneda! If anybody knows how a how the   
different genders should be, it's your sister Kasumi! How   
can you suggest that she would treat you as anything but   
what you were meant to be!" After 16 years of denial,   
only a very quiet voice in him said, as *I* meant you to   
be.  
  
Kaneda knew that Dad could no longer tolerate anything   
related to Akane Saotome. She would have to wait until   
supper was over with.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
It was after supper, and Ranma STILL hadn't shown up.   
Kaneda was beginning to be worried. That was on top of   
all the other worries that were piling up on him.   
  
Mr. Saotome would rather I was engaged to anybody else   
but Ranma. Kuno says he's in love with me. Nabiki is on   
any side with money. And Kasumi has decided I should be a   
girl after all. He sulked. The only one who WANTS me to   
be a guy is Dad. Out loud he said, "Gee, why doesn't   
that make me feel better."  
  
He found himself outside Nabiki's room. He was tempted to   
go straight in; but he knocked. She answered, "Come in,   
Kaneda."  
  
When he opened the door he found her seated on her desk   
chair. It was turned around, facing the bed. She   
gestured, "Sit. We'll talk."  
  
Kaneda said, "I won't be here that long!" He left the   
door open as he strode over to her, "You sold me!"  
  
Nabiki, in her faded cutoffs and green halter, casually   
crossed her bare legs, "Are you still a free agent? Are   
you still able to say "no"? You are not forced or   
obligated. Therefore, I did not 'sell' you."   
  
In a battle of words, Kaneda knew who had the technique.   
"What about family feeling!?!"  
  
Nabiki put a bent elbow over the chair's back, "I'm still   
loyal to everybody who's a Tendou...Akane."  
  
It took a couple of seconds for him to fit that last   
piece of Nabiki's sentence, "Now wait a minute! Just   
because you're calling the girl I change into "Akane   
Saotome" DOESN'T mean I'm still not ME inside! I'm still   
a Tendou!!"  
  
Nabiki smiled, "Haven't you heard that "Form defines   
destiny"? But ignoring anatomy and metabolism, let's talk   
of social and legal norms. When a woman gets married, the   
threads that tie her to her parental family become   
reduced, at best. Her taking a new name indicates that   
she now belongs to another family."   
  
Kaneda said, "But I'm NOT married! I haven't even left   
the house!"   
  
Nabiki said, "That is because your fiance is living with   
us. And by taking his name, you have shown that you   
spiritually do not belong to the Tendou family."  
  
Kaneda yelled, "Akane Saotome is just a name you made   
up!!"  
  
Nabiki said with pride, "Ah, but soon it will not be   
fiction, but LEGAL. The money I got from Kuno-baby went   
to a down payment." Her expression shifted to one of   
'altruism', "I didn't even profit on the transaction."  
  
That bit of strange news threw Kaneda for a temporary   
loss for words.   
  
Sounding rehearsed, Nabiki's smiled, "So you see, I have   
been thinking of you the whole while. I am clearing the   
way so you may be Mrs. Ranma Saotome."  
  
Kaneda protested, "I don't want to be the wife! I want   
HER to be the Mrs.!"  
  
Nabiki uncrossed her legs, "Oh, well, that's something   
Kaneda's going to help pay for." She rose up, smiling,   
"But since you ARE a Tendou, I can give you a discount."  
  
Either way, Kaneda felt slimed. It did not improve his   
temper.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
But he could hardly direct his frustration at Oneesan.   
"Kasumi, I've been a guy my whole life. I don't want to   
be a girl."  
  
Kasumi wiped dry one of the dishes she was washing, "And   
Ranma feels the same way. And since our guest was born   
that way, I would think he has a better right to be the   
guy." She put the plate down and turned to Kaneda,   
"Unless, of course, you are prepared to give up the idea   
of being engaged."  
  
Kaneda tried to say something, but couldn't. His mind was   
in brain lock.   
  
Kasumi wiped her hands on a dry dishtowel, "This has not   
been an easy decision on my part, Kane-chan. It's taken   
me until today to come to terms with the truth. As I said   
this afternoon, everything was simpler before Ranma   
came." She tried to give a reassuring grip on his arm, "I   
recognize it will be difficult. But just as living in a   
guy's body allowed you to be a think like a guy, living   
in a girl's will allow you to think like a girl."  
  
It was difficult for Kaneda to speak, "Ra, Ranma has a   
girl's body. What if, if SHE wants to...be the girl?"   
That was the closest his cursed mind could allow that   
Ranma might not be a girl.  
  
Kasumi's hand fell from his arm, "But Ranma's only been a   
girl for...." She looked into Ototou's eyes. Among the   
pain, she saw his desperate hope. She bowed her head, "If   
it is Ranma's own decision."  
  
Kaneda smiled a thank you, and hurried out of the kitchen   
before she could qualify her consent.   
  
He nearly bumped into Mr. Saotome. "Er, excuse me!"  
  
Genma looked up at the boy with veiled disapproval.  
  
Outside in the hall, Kaneda slowed down he heard:   
"Kasumi, isn't it obvious that you are the only one   
FEMALE enough for my son?..."  
  
Kaneda thought, But Dr. Tofu loves her!  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
A workout in the dojo didn't do much to release Kaneda's   
frustrations. Or worries. Ranma still hadn't come home.   
"But this isn't Ranma's home, is it?" The hot and sweaty   
martial artist said to himself. "Ranma's never had a   
home. How can you expect her to want to be a wife, then?   
Doesn't one imply the other?"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
He went into the bathroom nude with thoughts like this.   
"Am I willing to be the wife? Can I really overcome my   
life as a guy for her?" It still seemed bizarre to him   
that he'd have to be a girl to marry the girl he wanted.   
For that is how he honestly thought of Ranma.  
  
When he finished his cold water washing, he got up from   
the low plastic stool and was about to leave. He stopped   
to look at the hot water in the furo.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Outside in the laundry room, the naked blackhaired girl   
threw her towel into the laundry basket. On the washer   
she saw a pair of yellow pajamas with swirling suns and   
black catheads. On them was pinned a note, [For Akane; I   
bought this a month ago on a whim. Love, Kasumi.]  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Akane tested the pajamas again, tugging on the tops and   
bottoms. "I wouldn't have picked this pattern, but it IS   
almost something I could wear as a guy." It wasn't as   
soft as she thought girls would wear. Or is it just that   
this body is soft? She knew her awareness increased as a   
girl.  
  
Still, she knew they were meant for girls. That knowledge   
made her feel a little uneasy when she went out of the   
laundry room. At least I'm wearing pants.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
It was dark in the back hall. But this was the house she   
grew up in. She knew how to find her way around even with   
her eyes--   
  
Suddenly the door of the room next to the bathroom   
opened. It was the master bedroom: Oh, no! Dad's   
going to see me as a girl!!  
  
Ranma-chan's voice said, "What's the matter, Kane-chan?"  
  
Akane was relieved. "Ranma!? You came back!!"  
  
Ranma-chan said, " ' course I came back. This IS our   
home, after all?"  
  
Akane's heart beneath her breast felt like leaping. "OUR   
home?"   
  
The shadow reached out, and took his hand, "Come to bed.   
We got the place all to ourselves."  
  
Akane dared to hope, "We do?"  
  
Pulling her inside, Ranma-chan said, "Mm-hm! It's a   
present from the families."  
  
Akane couldn't believe it, "You, you want to... in Dad's   
room?"  
  
Ranma-chan slid the door closed, "We ARE gonna inherit   
everything. Livin' in the master bedroom is part of the   
deal Pop worked out."  
  
Akane wanted to protest. Dad hadn't even died yet. To do   
anything in his room was like--  
  
Ranma-chan giggled, "Nabiki even sold me her long purple   
negligee and matchin', lacey lingerie."   
  
Akane had never seen Nabiki actually wearing it, but she   
HAD teased him enough with it to did know which one   
Ranma was talking about: "Do, do you have a tissue? I   
think I'm going to have a nose bleed."  
  
Ranma laughed, "That's my line," and turned on the light.   
  
Ranma-kun was wearing nothing but his undershirt and   
boxers.  
  
Akane cried, "But I thought!?!" She looked down and saw   
SHE was the one wearing the purple negligee and   
lingerie!!  
  
Ranma-kun leered at her, "Now it's time for the   
honeymoon." The blackhaired guy advanced on her.  
  
The muscular teen exuded male hormones. Even on his best   
days, Kaneda could not match this Ranma for sheer   
virility. Akane for the first time in her life felt weak   
and vulnerable, fragile, frail.   
  
Ranma-kun lifted her up in his steely arms. "Now that   
we've settled who's the man and who's the woman, we can   
get down to the reason there is men and women."  
  
Ranma-kun had no problem taking her over to the futon and   
lowering down onto it. His face was close enough to kiss   
her lips. "Nabiki sold me her copy of the "Kama Sutra".  
  
Akane cried, "Try THIS position!!" And kicked him in his   
nuts!   
  
As Ranma-kun fell, Akane gripped him by his shoulders and   
pushed him down as she rose up. She spun him until she   
was on top. She then sprang off his gut and leaped for the   
way out. "I've got to get wet!! That guy would never want   
to do anything with a guy!!"  
  
Out of Dad's room it was raining.   
  
Pitter, patter, pitter, patter...  
  
The redhead Kaneda-kun was wearing the purple negligee   
and matching, lacey lingerie!!   
  
In a field strewn with flowers, Kuno in his kendo-gi was   
waiting holding a bouquet of red roses. "Saotome, I love   
you. I would date with you!"  
  
Kaneda-kun told him, "You've have to be kidding! I'm a   
guy!"  
  
Suddenly Kaneda-kun fell through the flowers, "YE-OWW!!"  
  
He fell into the same outdoor pool that he fell in on   
Ranma's first day of school.   
  
Kaneda was in the uniform navy blue one-piece bathing   
suit that Japanese schoolgirls were known for.  
  
Water was everywhere! Kaneda-kun was drowning!! He   
reached out with his arms and kicked out with his legs,   
trying to scream for help under water!!   
  
The only people in the pool were four naked Kunos. Rather   
than save her they took each other's hands and circled   
her on her way towards the bottom. All the while they   
chanted, "I love you. I would date with you. I love you.   
I would date with you..."  
  
The panda was there, throwing streamers and confetti   
while blowing a noisemaker.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Finally Kane-chan's scream found air: "NNOO!!"  
  
She was awake. She was sitting up in her bed in the   
yellow pajamas, panting heavily. She stared blankly at   
morning light coming through her bedroom window, t  
rying to get rid of the feeling that nightmares left.  
  
Her first waking thought was a memory. It was the memory   
of yesterday's sunset. Walking away, Kuno paused long   
enough to look over his shoulder. "I love you."  
  
A cold quiver of revulsion shook her more than the   
nightmare had.   
  
In her mind she heard Ranma-chan call her a, "Pervert!"   
  
Kaneda brought his hand from his fevered head. "Geez, I'm   
soaked with sweat!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Going into the laundry room, Kane-chan heard Mr. Saotome   
humming in the bathroom. She scowled. Disgusted, she was   
tempted to leave.  
  
Instead she went to the utility sink and turned on the   
cold water. She splashed her face.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
After taking off his school boys' uniform, the nude   
redhead entered the bathroom with a short towel in front   
of him. Mr. Saotome was stripped and sitting on the pre-  
bath stool. Look at him! Why does HE need so much   
lather. He's bald! But he wasn't there to test his   
martial arts skills against Ranma's sensei. "Mr. Saotome,   
did Ranma come home?"  
  
Mr. Saotome ignored him.  
  
Coming up behind him, Kaneda spoke louder, "Mr. Saotome,   
I asked if Ranma was back!?!"  
  
Mr. Saotome finally said, "Oh, it's you. I have soap in   
my ears. You'll have to speak louder."  
  
Stifling his frustration, Kaneda repeated his question.  
  
Mr. Saotome confidently said, "No, Ranma didn't come back   
last night. But he will. I am the only constant in his   
life. He always comes back to me."   
  
Kaneda's anger increased. Poor Ranma. She's never had a   
chance to know what having friends and family is like.  
  
Mr. Saotome paused from his morning toilet to smile,   
"Yes, that's why Ranma has no choice but to honor an   
agreement made by his old man and sensei."  
  
*P-thard*   
  
Kaneda dropped the wooden mallet as he walked out. He   
left Mr. Saotome on the tile floor.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Kaneda didn't hurry to school. He thought about skipping.   
"I already skipped two days in a row, now. And today is   
Saturday. There's only a half-day of school."  
  
Then he saw her!! Like a mirage, Ranma-chan was walking   
the fence of the bridge over the canal. Kaneda ran to   
meet her as she came in his direction. He was almost   
afraid to find out it was an illusion, "Ranma?! Ranma,   
you didn't leave!!"  
  
Ranma pulled herself out of her thoughts; she looked up   
at him. She was still frowning. "Oh, it's you."  
  
Kaneda slowed down, "...And you're still a girl!"  
  
Ranma-chan stopped on top of the rail to let him know,   
"It ain't MY idea! Every time I found some hot water, I   
got wet with cold again!!"  
  
Kaneda was going to ask about the "Saotome Hot Water   
Attack" but decided not to. Ranma probably couldn't make   
it work on herself for the same reason that snow didn't   
change him when he was a girl.  
  
Kaneda grinned, "See? It's easier just to remain like we   
are now. Let's go to school."  
  
Ranma-chan strode past him; her body language made it   
clear she wasn't to be stopped, "Look! I may not have   
much of a choice about havin' a girl's body, but I do   
have one about BEIN' a girl!"   
  
She ignored Kaneda as he watched her walk away.   
  
Kaneda was still smiling when he turned back for school.   
"Yes, Ranma, you will at long last have a family and   
home." And his leap matched the one his heart felt, "You   
will have your new life...Mrs. Ranma TENDOU!"  
  
  
The End of this chapter  
  
[I've made minor changes in Chapter 05. The important one   
is that Kaneda has decided the best way to keep Ranma off   
balance is to say the same kind of things to her that   
Ranma said to the original Akane.] 


	7. 07: Taihen Beef

FanFiction.Net Story : Ranma & Kaneda  
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"Taihen Beef"  
  
Fanfic Anime Ranma Ranma & Kanedafont size: (+) : (-)  
  
Author: Ron Dow751. Default Chapter2. 02: Ranma's Girl Problem3.   
03: School is No Place for Challenges4. 04: Hot Water5. 05: The   
Tendou Trick6. 06: The Answer7. 07: Taihen Beef8. 08: A Sight Best   
Not Beheld9. 09: May The Goddess Bless10. 10: A Doll For Two11.   
11: Go Ahead, Try to Take Her12. 12: Check Mate13. 13: Tomobiki   
the 13th14. 14: When Martial Artists Assemble!15. 15: Fight Karma   
with Karma  
  
PG-13 - English - Humor/Action/Adventure - Reviews: 40 - Publish   
date: 08-04-02 - Updated: 12-06-02 storyid: 892133  
  
  
Ranma & Kaneda  
By Ron Dow75  
From an idea by James M. Zema,  
Unauthorized, but allowed.  
  
  
07: Taihen Beef   
  
  
Twice the usual number of uniformed jocks was waiting at   
the Furinkan's gate and along its walk to the front   
doors. Reinforcements had been called in after   
yesterday's challenge for the title "Best Athlete" had a   
new winner. Nobody had heard of the new guy Kei Tendou.   
He hadn't even introduced himself with a proper   
challenge. The guy had no right to come out of nowhere to   
make his reputation. He had to be taught a lesson. "Do   
you think this Kei Tendou is related to Kaneda Tendou?"/   
"What a dumb question: Of COURSE they're related!"/ "As   
a martial arts fan, I say he has the same fighting style   
as Kaneda Tendou."/ "Didn't you hear about the story   
Nabiki Tendou's telling?"/ "The one where Kei Tendou is   
on the run from his clan?"/ "--And is hiding with his   
cousin, Kaneda."/ "Well, Greater Tokyo IS far from   
Fukuoka."/ "And ALL because of an arranged marriage with   
some girl!"/ "Yeah, a girl named, uh, Akane Saotome!"/   
"Do you think Akane Saotome is related to Ranma Saotome?"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kaneda's feet barely touched the ground as he raced to   
school. I've done it! I took the next step, and it feels   
okay! The first step had been when he had ASKED to be   
engaged to Ranma-chan. I'm actually thinking of marrying   
her!  
  
In his head the a scenario unfolded:  
  
Ranma-chan's father challenges Kaneda in a duel for the   
hand of his daughter. As they face off in the Tendou   
Dojo, he declares, "I will never let you take my daughter   
away from me. She has belonged to me all of her life: And   
she will be ALL of her life." He charges with, "THAT'S   
why she must be the husband!!"  
  
Kaneda answers, "That's why she MUST be a wife!!"  
  
Before Kaneda reaches Mr. Saotome, he falls hard onto   
the floor. Ranma-chan had landed on his back. She cries,   
"That's for ME to decide!!"   
  
Kaneda has no time to stop. Ranma-chan throws a fist to   
his throat and gut. "Anybody that wants to be MY better   
half HAD better be better 'n me!" Kaneda ducks the upper   
fist, and shoves on the lower. Ranma-chan is spun like a   
turnstile. Kaneda tramples over Mr. Saotome.  
  
Ranma-chan stops her spinning and attacks him from   
behind, "If you think I'm gonna let you make me the   
traditional Japanese wife, you got another think comin'!"  
  
Kaneda manages to dodge her blows. He strikes back. As   
she deflects them with her palms, Kaneda tells her,   
"Walk three paces behind? Keep your eyes lowered?   
Don't talk? Do nothing to attract attention to yourself?   
--That's only in public!" Kaneda's fear of becoming a   
girl had latched onto horror stories like that.  
  
The blows have been pushing small Ranma-chan back. She   
counters by kicking, "OH!!? ONLY in public!?!"  
  
Kaneda blocks her kicks with his kicks of his own,   
"Haven't you heard the news stories about quiet, little   
wives who beat their husbands at home?!"  
  
Ranma-chan goes on the offensive, speeding up her attacks,   
"But if I don't marry you, I can beat the crap outa you in   
public, TOO!!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Meanwhile, outside of Kaneda's head:  
  
On the school grounds, the guys who had already been put   
down by Kaneda groaned, "That wasn't KEI Tendou!"/   
"Kaneda's gotten even BETTER!!"/ "Kei must be giving   
Kaneda martial arts tips!"/ "And we thought we could   
take KEI!?"/ "As a martial arts fan, I think Kaneda has   
attained the ultimate fighting state of mind."/   
"Meaning?"/ "He's not thinking about us at ALL! His   
body is acting on pure conditioned reflexes!!" / "Ow.   
Now, that hurts."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kaneda says to Ranma-chan, "Fine: You can be an American-  
style wife--But if I beat you, you have to BE my wife!"  
  
Ranma-chan answers, "Come and get it! I'm ready for--"  
  
Mr. Saotome suddenly tosses Ranma-chan out the dojo's   
door. "No American-style: You have to get by the father   
first!"   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
The P.E. Teacher Mr. Shuaatsuneiga stood on top of the   
front steps of the school, "You down there! Class in   
session, you know! Come in here this second!"  
  
The well-built man was bumped aside and off the stoop   
as Kuno charged out of the building behind him.   
  
Kuno ran toward the daydreaming Kaneda, his wooden sword   
ready to deliver its blow, "Kaneda Tendou, I challenge   
you! Give over Ranma Saotome!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kaneda leaps, feet out towards the man who stands in the   
way of his dreams, "Ha! Make that Ranma Tendou!!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Up at her usual place of the second story window, Nabiki   
saw her brother's foot hit Kuno-baby's face. No sooner   
had her classmate's head hit the ground, but Kaneda   
pushed off on it. But what really caused the samurai-boy   
to lose face was what Kaneda then yelled: "Come back   
here, Ranma! I promise to beat you gentle like! All I   
want to do is win you!!"  
  
Nabiki commented, "Little brother has really fallen for   
Ranma."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Nabiki had sized up the situation. Turning from her spot   
by the window, she saw the same old, substitute teacher   
as they'd had for homeroom period as yesterday. She   
seized on the opportunity. She called out, "Come on,   
girls! This is an emergency! There are a pack of 52 hunks   
laying out there that's going to need some attention!"  
  
More girls than just her vice presidents followed her out   
the door.  
  
Taken by surprise, the only thing the teacher could think   
to say was, "Hey! No running in the halls!"   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Standing beside a basin on a stand, Nabiki wrung out its   
cold water from a towel. She took the cloth to the chair   
beside the bed Kuno was laid out on. Seating herself, she   
said, "Kuno, take my advice. You've REALLY got to work on   
your technique."  
  
Before she could put the damp cloth on his brow, Kuno   
suddenly gained semi-consciousness. He sat up in bed,   
"Ah, my goddess in pigtails, I shall never let you go, My   
Love!" He then lay back on the pillow.   
  
Nabiki stared at him, "Hmm?! Pigtailed girl?"  
  
Kuno heard, and rose up again, "No, my wild haired   
huntress, you don't understand. I love you, Akane, like   
no other," he declared, crossing his arms over his heart.   
He lay back down.  
  
Nabiki eyed the guy who wasn't living up to her plans.   
She crossed her arms. Kuno was rich. But he was also   
unstable. He would most likely become possessive and   
attack any guy who showed an interest in 'his' girl.   
Which would be bad for business. With the right kind of   
promotion, the volume of guys willing to pay for Ranma-  
related merchandise would more than make up for the loss   
of Kuno's money...   
  
Kuno was back up, "Oh, you pigtailed goddess. Ranma, I   
would date with you." He lay back down.  
  
... But why couldn't Nabiki have Kuno as a client, TOO?   
There was always 'Akane Saotome'. --AND by giving Kuno   
Akane, his new sweetheart would be taking his mind off of   
Ranma. Akane would WORK at it, in fact! Meanwhile Nabiki   
would actually be doing Akane a favor. Nabiki wasn't   
throwing HER to the school's wolves. There would be only   
ONE guy after Akane, and she had proven many times she   
could take him.  
  
He came back up, "Wild haired huntress, allow me to date   
with you." This time he gently took Nabiki's hand.  
  
With her free hand, Nabiki took the basin from the stand,   
and jarred the dreamer out of his delirium.   
  
Frowning at the jerk, she said, "Are you quite finished   
now, Kuno?"  
  
The crumpled basin still on his head, Kuno told her,   
"That hurt, Nabiki Tendou."   
  
Testily, Nabiki asked, "Is dating girls the only thing   
you think about, Kuno?"  
  
His arms crossed, Kuno told her, "Fear not, Nabiki. I   
have no intention of asking you out."  
  
Nabiki answered with sarcasm, "Oh, I am SO disappointed."   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
After homeroom period was over, Kaneda started doing the   
math. What fantasy world was *I* in!!?! I know how good   
Ranma is! Genma is her sensei! I've seen them spar   
against each other: They do things I thought were only   
legendary!!  
  
He hung his head. His battle aura dimmed like a candle   
flame not drawing enough wax. Who am I kidding? I HAVE   
to worry about being challenged by them. Get beat, then   
get lost. Those will be the terms.  
  
The bell at last announced the first period was over.   
  
Hiroshi came over, "Where's Ranma?!"  
  
Daisuke joined him, "Your houseguest didn't LEAVE   
already?!"   
  
Kaneda, still slumped forward in his desk, said, "No. But   
she might as well, for all of the chance I have with   
her."  
  
Hiroshi and Daisuke looked at each other: "They had a   
fight."  
  
Sayuri said, "I shouldn't wonder."  
  
Yuka joined her on the other side of Kaneda, "The way you   
let the guys treat her yesterday."   
  
Sayuri said, "Just because she's a martial artist...."  
  
Sayuri waited. Yuka didn't finish her thought.   
  
Finally, Sayuri had to say, "Well!?! Aren't you going to   
say "...doesn't mean she is isn't a woman inside"?"  
  
Yuka answered, "But you've said martial arts makes a girl   
different from ordinary women."   
  
Sayuri asked, "What!? I meant it gives her confidence."  
  
Yuka said, "But she bailed on us between classes. Ranma   
couldn't face the pressure of being the new girl."  
  
In the other aisle, Hiroshi would've liked to have had a   
chance to 'console' her, "Yuka, you KNOW what a martial   
arts fan Sayuri is."  
  
Daisuke said, "It's blinded her to the softness a TRUE   
girl must have."  
  
Sayuri scorned, "And if a girl isn't, then she's a bitch,   
I suppose!?!"  
  
Daisuke said, "It makes her hard. Isn't that right,   
Hiroshi?"  
  
Hiroshi hesitated. Daisuke tended to be more tactless   
than he liked to be. "Er, well, in a...relationship,   
somebody has to be the one that yields."  
  
Yuka's ears perked up. He'd actually said the R-word.   
  
Sayuri demanded, "And WHY can't it be the guy who gives   
in!?!"  
  
Hiroshi said, "Because that makes him a wimp."  
  
Daisuke said, "And only a bitch would want a wimp."  
  
Sayuri cried, "What!? A man isn't a man unless he's "The   
man"!? It's the WOMAN who has to jump through the   
hoops!?..."  
  
As they argued around him, Kaneda heard...and thought.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
By the end of the third class, Kaneda was still thinking.   
  
The only reason he moved from his desk was because it was   
the cleaning period. Hiroshi had lifted a desk and was   
ready to put it on top of Kaneda's. "Come on, so we can   
sweep and mop and get out of here."  
  
Kaneda nodded, "...Out of here." And that's what he   
absent-mindedly did, taking her schoolbag with him.  
  
As Kaneda was leaving, Daisuke cried, "Hey! You can't get   
out of work detail THAT easy!" And he sloshed some of the   
water from his mop bucket at Kaneda's back.  
  
Mr. Egami yelled, "Koyasu! The floor hasn't even been   
swept yet! Why are you wasting hot water!?"  
  
Daisuke pointed in the direction of the classmate who was   
already out of sight. But he decided he wasn't allowed to   
snitch on his friend.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
The red haired Kaneda was gone. The black haired Kane-  
chan Saotome walked down the hall, barely aware she was   
in a Furinkan girls' uniform. Ranma does respect   
strength, doesn't she? Look what happened when she wanted   
to try out her "Saotome Hot Water Attack". Because I was   
a guy and didn't wimp out, SHE stayed around. We had a   
fair and honorable (and exhausting) battle. Then when it   
was time to sleep, she let me. She didn't try to attack   
me in my bedroom. Kane-chan didn't really consider her   
battles with Ranma-kun as battles with the same person.   
And since that Ranma was a male, Kane-chan was free to do   
things against HIM that she wouldn't think of doing   
against a girl (especially the one she had feelings for).   
  
She clenched her hand, I HAVE to stand up to her. I may   
not win, but I will definitely lose her, if I don't.  
  
She walked down the school stairs, And I must not lose   
her. Ranma's had a hard life. That's what she was raised   
with. That's all she knows for herself. I can't offer her   
a softer life until she thinks she wants it.  
  
Kane-chan continued her thinking right through to the   
shoe lockers. ...No, she'd just scoff at the considerate   
suitor act. --Being romantic!? Flowers, candy, gifts   
wouldn't go down right with her. I can't see Ranma as   
being that kind of girl.   
  
She took off her school slippers and put them in the   
small locker as she took her shoes out, Ha! I can JUST   
imagine her reaction if I did try any of that gooey   
stuff.   
  
Kane-chan stopped her musing as she took the first shoe   
off, and put it back on, then took them off again. She   
looked at the cross-trainers to see why it was so loose.   
"It's MY shoe! I mean, the ones I wear when I'm me,   
Kaneda. Oh, great! I wasn't wearing them when I changed."   
She slammed the shoe locker closed.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kane-chan headed for the nearest restroom.   
  
But which one should she go in, the men's or women's?   
Down on the main floor, there were more people out in the   
hall...and more adults. It was important she make her   
decision quickly.  
  
Before she had made up her mind, two of those adults came   
out of each door. They each stopped to look at her.   
  
Kane-chan turned, and said, waving, "Never mind! I can   
use one of the lavs on the way home."  
  
The man called after her, "You're not suppose to leave   
the grounds until after the afternoon recess on   
Saturdays!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kane-chan left the school grounds on barefoot. Tying the   
laces together, she had her guy-shoes draped over her   
schoolbag. "This is 'nice'!" she thought as she stepped   
on a particularly knobby pebble. "I haven't been a girl   
enough! My feet are too soft!"   
  
But that thought led to a smile, "Ranma doesn't have any   
trouble going without shoes." That brought her attention   
to her boobs, "AND she doesn't wear a bra." She adjusted   
the bra she was wearing, "That just shows Ranma's is a   
better girl than I am." Or she's bothered by constant   
little irritations more. To Kane-chan bras were a   
necessary evil. And right now she was having a hard time   
getting comfortable in the evil thing. It's a wonder   
bras find the right place. It's not like they're like   
anything Kaneda wears.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Swinging her bookbag ahead of her, Kane-chan ran around a   
street corner. There she had to slow to a stop.  
  
Kane-chan leaned against a privacy wall to rest. She was   
tired, sweaty, and her naked feet hurt. "I think I lost   
her."  
  
She clenched her fist and glared at it, "All I did was   
try and use the men's room. That waitress made me feel   
like a pervert. I WASN'T a pervert! I was a girl! It's   
not like I was going to be a GUY in the woman's room!"  
  
From above Ranma-chan said, "Hmf! Some martial artist you   
are."  
  
Frowning, Kane-chan looked up. Looking like the last time   
she saw her, Ranma was squatting on the wall just near   
her head. "Oh!? And YOU'D beat up on a waitress!?!"  
  
Ranma-chan jumped down. She barely bent anything to   
absorb the impact, and immediately stood more erect than   
she usually did, "A true martial artist doesn't have to beat   
PEOPLE up."  
  
Kane-chan crossed her arms, "And I--" She took her bare   
arms away from her chest, "--suppose you threaten people   
all the time? Considering how you were raised, you   
probably--"  
  
Ranma-chan leaned forward as she swung her fist down to   
her side, "No! Where would the honor be in THAT!?!"  
  
Kane-chan hesitated for a second, then threw her nose up,   
"Hmph! I'll bet." She did her best to ignore her as she   
walked away, "What did you do then?"   
  
Fuming, Ranma-chan followed, "Usually we RAN, if you have   
to know!"  
  
Kane-chan's anger did increased, "That's what *I* did!   
What makes YOU any different!?!"  
  
Ranma-chan ran up in front of the girl, "Me and Pop don't   
run UNTIL we get what we're after!" There was a "usually"   
in there, but Ranma didn't like qualifying her arguments.   
It didn't sound as forceful. Besides those times they   
DIDN'T achieve their goals, it was because POP chickened   
out.   
  
Kane-chan went around her, " "Get what you're after"?   
Hmph! It makes you seem like thieves."  
  
Ranma yelled in frustration, "I'm NOT a thief!!" Pop, on   
the other hand.... "Honor is important to me!" Loyalty to   
family was more honorable than loyalty to the law.  
  
Kane-chan thought, If I wasn't angry, I'd be pleased.   
She noticed they were passing a restaurant, The "Taihen   
Beef". She nodded towards it, "Okay, go into THEIR men's   
room."   
  
Ranma-chan hesitated only because it wasn't HER idea. But   
it WAS a challenge. Grumbling, Ranma-chan tromped into   
the restaurant.  
  
Kane-chan walked towards the door, So that IS the way to   
handle Ranma. Being nice will probably only get me   
ignored and dismissed, because I wouldn't register on her   
martial arts radar. It didn't help her mood. She thinks   
life is a challenge. I have to GIVE her ones to keep her   
attention. I just wish I were smart enough to know how to   
maneuver her into the life I want to give her.   
  
Kane-chan stuck her head under the noren/door curtain.   
Ranma-chan WAS headed for the restrooms. The redhead had   
to move back, though, to let a very large, very muscular   
man wearing sweats and a wrestler's mask get by.   
  
Kane-chan felt for her wallet. Crap! Why can't girls   
have pockets!? "Sir!" she said to the wrestler. "My   
friend, the one just going in the men's room, she hasn't   
eaten since lunch, yesterday. Will you tell her to wait   
here, while I find some money? There is no reason to   
commit suicide!" All of it IS the truth.  
  
The man said, "That was a girl??" He looked in time to   
see her go in. "The poor, little thing." Nodding, he   
headed for the restroom. "I, the Great Beef Bowl, will   
save her!" He puffed out his chest as he sucked in his   
belly. He had a lecherous look on his face, though, told   
what his real intentions were.  
  
Kane-chan blinked, "Beef Bowl"?? That guy is WAY too   
much of an "Urusei Yatsura" fan. But, then, he may have   
just hated teachers. Mr. Onsen-Mark got beat up by a   
wrestler by that name.  
  
Kane-chan stepped back outside to where she could see the   
restaurant's sign. "Of course, where ELSE would a "Lum"   
fan want to eat at? "Taihen" not only means "A Lot of",   
it also means "Terribly Weird"." But she failed to see   
that the owner was from Okinawa. The owner knew the   
double meaning the English word "Beef" had for Americans.  
  
Song refrain:  
  
"Let's put weird and weird together  
And make it even weirder!  
Weird, weird space is  
Terribly weird!"  
  
Kane-chan heard Ranma yell, "PERVERT!!" There was a   
*Kvang*, *Glahott* and a *Flush*, as somebody big was   
thrown into a toilet stall.   
  
Kane-chan hurried to stand outside, looking as innocent   
as she could.   
  
Ranma-chan came leaping out of the restaurant. She   
bounded a sharp left, saw Kane-chan standing near the   
door, and did a 180. "That was YOUR idea, wasn't it!!?!"  
  
Kane-chan answered, "You lost!"  
  
Ranma-chan told her, "I did not lose!!"  
  
Kane-chan stepped away from her, "Yes you did. You   
fought, you didn't run!"  
  
Ranma-chan took her arm, and spun her around to face her,   
"Wrestlers don't count as people! Not one ACTING like   
that!!"   
  
Kane-chan got in her face, "AND you didn't get what you   
went in there for!!"  
  
Ranma-chan had leaned backwards. But that was ALL the   
ground she was prepared to cede, "Yes I did! The bet was   
I wouldn't go into the men's room like this!"  
  
Behind Kane-chan, in Ranma's sight, the owner of the   
"Taihen Beef" (a squat man in a white t-shirt and short   
chef's hat) yelled, "You caused trouble in my place   
because of a stupid BET!!?!" He was waving the second   
biggest meat cleaver that Ranma had ever seen. "That   
is my best customer!!"  
  
Kane-chan picked Ranma-chan up by the shirt material   
around her armpits, "The challenge was: You have to   
CHANGE in that men's room!!" She swung Ranma-chan around,   
out of her way: "You have to STAY like this until you   
do!!"  
  
The man with the cleaver ran at Ranma-chan. As she bent,   
tumbled, ducked and jumped out of the way of the massive   
cleaver, Kane-chan forced herself to walk away. The   
commotion behind her went on for at least a minute. When   
it stopped, Kane-chan clapped her hands together; she   
prayed, Give me the certainty that Ranma IS as great   
martial artist as I think she is.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
What Kane-chan had done to Ranma-chan didn't make her   
feel good. It slowed her pace, as she brooded. She even   
missed a couple of turns, and had to go back the way   
she'd come.  
  
Kane-chan didn't feel like making her travel any longer.   
She came in the front door this time. It feels strange.   
I'm not used to simply walking into the house as a girl.   
Before, I always tried to pretend I didn't become a girl.   
I wonder what it would be like if I said, "I'm home!"   
  
Kasumi was vacuuming the inner hall. But she heard.   
She stopped the machine and said, "Well, hello, Akane   
Saotome! Welcome to our home."  
  
Kane-chan walked over to where she could see her oneesan.   
" "Hello, Akane Saotome. Welcome to our home"??"  
  
Kasumi explained, "To get Father to accept you, you have   
to be a guest in the house. I'm sorry."  
  
'Akane Saotome' sighed, and nodded. "Okay, I'll play   
along. It's better than him blanking out on us."  
  
As 'the guest' went to the stairs, Kasumi told her, "Mr.   
Saotome's out, but Ranma's up there." (A heavy load went   
off of Kane-chan's heart. Ranma had survived after all.)   
"Try not to disturb her. The poor dear fell asleep the   
moment her head hit the pillow." Her!?!   
  
Kane-chan said, "Yes. I bet she didn't get much sleep   
last night outside. I don't think she even had a pillow."  
  
Though relieved, Kane-chan thought, Maybe Ranma ISN'T   
the martial artist I thought she was. She couldn't get   
hot water in a men's room!? Despite the owner, and maybe   
the wrestler, it shouldn't be THAT difficult.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
By the top of the stairs, Kane-chan was thinking, WHY   
wouldn't I want Ranma to be the girl? I should be glad   
she failed. A hope began to form, Maybe this is an   
excuse. Maybe Ranma really WANTS to be a girl.   
Subconsciously, anyway.  
  
Kane-chan turned the corner. She saw Nabiki, still in her   
school uniform, coming towards her with a camera. It   
didn't register how close she was to Ranma's open sliding   
door. "Akane--"  
  
Kane-chan stopped, and told her, "Not YOU, too!"  
  
Nabiki said, "There's a name that goes with the body,   
now."   
  
Kane-chan thought, And with a different name, a   
different attitude from what should be my family.  
  
Nabiki said, "Akane, are you going to do your usual   
Saturday afternoon workout?"  
  
Kane-chan said, "If it's any of your business, I feel   
like taking a nap."  
  
Nabiki smiled, "Good! Pleasant dreams!" As she let Akane,   
she said, "Oh! And don't forget to change into Kaneda!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
It wasn't long before Kane-chan was out in the arena in   
front of the family dojo lifting dumbbells. Dressed in   
her usual yellow martial arts uniform. But this time she   
was wearing something called a sports bra. She DIDN'T   
like it. She wasn't used to wearing regular bras. It   
squeezed her. She did her best to ignore her discomforts,   
I WASN'T going to work out. But I do need to build-up   
this body. I can't always count on being a guy to fight   
my battles. She wasn't wearing anything on her feet.   
  
When Nabiki finally showed up with the camera, she   
managed to sound almost disappointed, "Akane? What   
happened to Kaneda?"  
  
Putting more force into her up-thrusts, Kane-chan told   
her, "I don't know why you want to take more pictures of   
Kaneda. But I know you're up to something. You have more   
than enough all ready. If you want to take pictures, take   
them like I am now."   
  
Nabiki said, "You're a girl without makeup, a hairdo, or   
even a pretty outfit."  
  
Kane-chan smiled smugly, "That's right. Nobody's going to   
want to pay for pictures of me looking like this." Kaneda   
DID think that. The girls in the pictures Hiroshi and   
Daisuke had shown her didn't look this unsexy...even   
those in "less than dignified" poses.  
  
Nabiki started taking pictures, anyway. "If you don't   
mind, then. I need to fill up the roll so I can take it   
to "Quique-de-Velop"." Nabiki believed in having   
negatives.  
  
Frowning, now, Kane-chan wondered what she was really up   
to.  
  
Suddenly an arrow came out of nowhere: It struck one of   
the posts of the covered walkway between the house and   
dojo. Another 30 centimeters and it would've been Nabiki's   
face.   
  
Kane-chan said the obvious, "Hey! That could hurt   
somebody."   
  
Nabiki barely allowed herself to show any reaction.   
Looking for an excuse to do something besides stand   
there, she saw the neatly fold paper tied around the   
arrow. "Oo, it's a letter."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Nabiki opened the folded letter out.  
  
Kane-chan asked, "Who's it from?"  
  
After reading it, Nabiki let Kane-chan see, "Here."  
  
Kane-chan read it, " "Dear Nabiki Tendou"..." It didn't   
take long for her to figure out from the florid dialect   
who it was from, "..."Oh, how this spring of joy   
resembleth the uncertain glory of an April day. Anyway:   
Please come to Caf 


	8. 08: A Sight Best Not Beheld

Ranma & Kaneda  
By Ron Dow75  
From an idea by James M. Zema,  
Unauthorized, but allowed.  
  
08: A Sight Best Not Beheld  
  
  
Dogs were barking nearby. It was a cool late afternoon,   
and Kane-chan was out walking in a very pink jumper,   
white blouse, calf-high stocks and black ballet slippers.   
She was also wearing a bra and panties. This was   
something she was SURE everybody was aware of. Wearing   
lingerie was still new to her. In public, anyway. (There   
were the three times SHE (not HE) had tried on her   
sisters'--Just to get an idea what girls had to put up   
with! And she didn't even want to THINK about what almost   
became her fourth time!)   
  
And everybody's going to be more aware if I fiddle with   
this damned bra! The thing never quite lands where it   
should be. The other things don't make that much trouble   
when they poof onto me.  
  
She looked around for the solution to her problem; water.   
They were headed away from the local business district   
and towards her home. The black haired guy in Chinese   
clothes and a bookbag on his back was walking the walls   
ahead of her. Ranma-kun was ignoring her ...Or maybe he   
was thinking about how simple it was to turn HER into the   
girl!  
  
When Ranma said that hot water turns her into a guy, I   
thought that was the same kind of hot water that turns me   
into a girl! Ranma DID say we have the same curse. So WHY   
is steaming tap water's enough to take away my   
manhood!!?!   
  
Ranma was lucky. It took real hot water to take away her   
favored form. If it weren't for Saotome's brainwashing,   
Ranma'd realize how easy it was to stay a girl most of   
the time.  
  
But, no: To stay in the Saotome family and under her   
father's control, Ranma has to be the husband. If her no   
good father does allow me to marry Ranma, it'll be as   
(shudder) the wife. And to make me his wife, all he has   
to do is go to the nearest sink!" She thought   
sarcastically, "That's where you find wives, isn't?  
  
Kane-chan told herself, "I have to take his mind off of   
that, quickly! She might forget, then!"   
  
Ranma-kun's sense of danger was slow to react, " ' You   
say something?" When he turned around, he saw Kane-chan   
launching her attack:   
  
"Ha-yiii!"  
  
He did a little side hop and stood there watching her   
holding onto the top of the wall. She was trying to   
scramble up. "You DON'T look very lady-like, you know."  
  
The edge of the wall gouged into Kane-chan as her boobs   
oozed past it (but leaving behind the bra)...until only   
her hands were on top.  
  
The only purchase Kane-chan could get on the cement   
surface was not from her stupid slippers, but her bare   
knees. "Shut up!"  
  
Ranma-kun squatted down closer, "You'd have more of a   
height advantage if you were a--"  
  
Kane-chan told him, "No, I don't need it!!" Her boobs   
were pressed up against the wall; and one was leg exposed   
even more by its foot raised almost to the top of the   
wall. That's it: Keep thinking about me becoming a guy:   
NOT a girl! "I'd still not have your school's lower body   
skills!"  
  
She let herself drop to the ground. "But I do have the   
TENDOU School's skills!" Not thinking to straighten her   
skirt (but wishing she COULD adjust the bra), she looked   
around. There, across the street!  
  
Ranma casually watched her run over to another wall. He   
said, "I've noticed. We have basically the same style of   
fighting. But we do emphasize different things."  
  
Kane-chan picked up the push broom somebody had left by   
their gate. "Well, our schools DO begin with kempo."   
  
As she hurried back across the street with the broom with   
the long, scrub-brush-like head, Ranma-kun said, "And our   
fathers once studied together. But your style relies too   
much on weapons." Large wooden mallets came particularly   
to mind.  
  
Kane-chan place one end of the long broom head over the   
top of the next wall in front of Ranma-kun, "Tools!   
Weapons make it sound we like to go on the offense."   
Holding tightly onto the handle, she said, "And this tool   
is going to compensate for the skills I haven't developed   
yet--Which is what tools do!" And she started scaling the   
walls.  
  
Ranma-kun looked at her unconvinced and unimpressed,   
"You'd have more muscle mass if you were a--"  
  
With her feet almost at the top of the wall, Kane-chan   
screamed, "Tools are like martial arts techniques!! If   
you have the right one, it doesn't matter what size--"  
  
The handle popped free of the broom head. The broom head   
fell!  
  
Ranma-kun continued to look on, "What were you saying   
about "the right" tool?"  
  
The back of Kane-chan's heels was the only part of her   
(barely) on top of the wall; she was using all of her   
girlish strength to keep herself up by the handle. Her   
long, black hair touched the pavement, as well as the hem   
of her skirt.  
  
Ranma-kun commented, "You know, blue polka dot panties   
really don't suit you."  
  
Reddening, Kane-chan wanted to scream!! No!! The idea   
was for him to Not to like seeing me as a girl!!   
  
Her battle aura burning, she spit out her skirt and   
yelled, "Tendou Upper Body Whip Crack!!" The muscles   
lower in her torso, now upside down, fed their power to   
those higher, and those to the next set of muscles--Until   
her concentrated strength was rolled into her arms: And   
into a great shove on the broom handle!   
  
Kane-chan did a dangling pole vault over onto her heels!  
  
Over onto the wall! Where she teetered for a moment, her   
arms spinning. "Whoa-Oh-Oh-Uh, oh!"  
  
She fell belly down without the handle onto the yard on   
the other side.   
  
Ranma-kun stood up on the wall, "What a klutz!" He jogged   
over to the next wall, "Are you okay?"  
  
Over the yipping and yapping of the yard's dog, Kane-chan   
called out, "Help me!! Help me, I'm being attacked!!"   
  
Ranma-kun just looked at the girl through half-lidded   
eyes. "It's just a puppy." The St. Bernard that was twice   
the size of her hands was next to her face, licking it   
ferociously.  
  
Kane-chan kept calling, "Save me from it!! Quick before   
it's mother finds me!! Help!!"  
  
Ranma-kun was about to walk away on the wall, when he   
thought of something. "Do you have a phobia?"  
  
Kane-chan kept pleading for help.  
  
Sighing, Ranma jumped down into the yard. Kane-chan was   
rolling around on her back, her skirt up near the top of   
her thighs (and her boobs completely out of the bra).  
  
When he reached for the little fur ball, Kane-chan shoved   
the puppy up into his face. Ranma got slobbered!  
  
Ranma-kun took the creature away from Kane-chan and his   
face. "What'd you do that for!?!"  
  
Her own face even more covered with drool, Kane-chan made   
to sit up, "Nothing. I was just—Ow-ch, ch!" She hadn't   
faked the fall.  
  
Ranma-kun stood up, "If you were testin' to see if water   
from livin' things can change me, it can't. I spent two   
weeks with the curse fightin' with Pop over food. If all   
the spit he puts out can't change me, nothing else's   
will."  
  
Wincing at the pain, Kane-chan thought, There goes that   
idea. He was wrong about how hot ordinary water has to   
be. If he had been wrong about living water, too, I could   
have returned Ranma to a girl again just by kissing and   
licking.   
  
Wincing at the thought, Kane-chan shuddered, Kissing and   
licking a guy!? Maybe I couldn't have.  
  
Then she got a WORSE thought: What if Ranma changed into   
this guy while we were getting hot and sweaty!!?  
  
"Meow."   
  
*Vooss*  
  
Kane-chan caught the puppy as Ranma went sailing over the   
wall.   
  
Kane-chan frowned, "Oh, great! I thought making Ranma mad   
was like challenging her! It would keep her around so she   
could "win" the argument." Kane-chan set the puppy down   
next to the kitten that had come to check things out.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kane-chan had to move carefully. She had landed on her   
front. And that meant her boobs got the worst of it. They   
would soon be terribly bruised. A good reason not to put   
the bra back over them.  
  
But she was martial artist enough to ignore most of the   
pain.   
  
The yard didn't have a koi pond, but it did have a   
birdbath. Kane-chan looked at it. "That's almost as   
unsanitary than dog slobber."  
  
But, being a guy at heart, she used it.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
The red haired Kaneda was back to wearing his Furinkan   
High gray slacks, and white shirt, but black cross-  
trainers. It feels good to be in loose boxers and not   
tight panties.  
  
He used his martial arts stealth skills to sneak out the   
front gate. Deep in thought, he made his way for home on   
a different street than he usually took. I wasn't wrong   
about how to keep Ranma interested, was I?! That HAS to   
be the first step in any plan to get her to become my   
wife. I mean, a shotgun wedding's not going to work with   
HER. There was a double meaning with his last sentence.   
No, I didn't mean it that way! Geez! I wouldn't survive   
the wedding, let alone the honeymoon.  
  
Suddenly the house behind him had a disturbance with a   
lot of running and yelling: "An intruder!"/ "In a   
disguise!!"/ "What a stupid disguise!"/ "Go get   
grandfather!"/ "No, I can use the kusari-fundo!"/   
"Young man, I don't want you getting yourself hurt with   
that old weight-and-scythe pike!"/ "You just don't want   
me to become a ninja like Granddaddy!".../   
  
Kaneda said, "Yes! Here's a chance to be a martial..."  
  
Jumping from a tree behind the wall, something black-and-  
white hopped onto the top of the wall and then onto the   
street.   
  
Kaneda said, "Then, maybe not."  
  
Too busy looking over its shoulder, the panda in the   
redlined black cape, white tie, black tuxedo with tails,   
and top hat was didn't see Kaneda.  
  
Kaneda stretched out a leg.   
  
As it fell, its leaflets flew.   
  
With it down on the ground, Kaneda could read the sign   
pinned on back of the coat, [Usagi's Tuxedo and Mask   
Shop, Costumes for Every Occasion]. I guess a panda   
already comes with a mask.  
  
Looking down, Kaneda asked, "What's the idea, Mr.   
Saotome?"  
  
Still face down, the panda held up a sign, [I'm not Genma   
Saotome.]  
  
Kaneda said, "Yeah, right."  
  
The panda lifted itself up onto its rear, [I'm a shill in   
a black-and-white costume!]   
  
Kaneda said, "That's some costume. I can't even see the   
zipper."  
  
The panda scooted its bulk away. [Don't touch! Any   
damages come out of my fee.]  
  
"Fee?" Kaneda had a different opinion of his houseguest,   
now. "I didn't know you were already working. I'm sorry,   
Giri no Chichi Mirai."  
  
The panda leaped to its feet, [WHO are you calling Future   
Father-in-law!?!]  
  
It looked like Kaneda would have to fight the 118-kg/300   
lb. animal, after all.  
  
But the fight was interrupted by thin but tall old man in   
a brown kimono and getas clopping towards them; spinning   
a 3 meter-long chain with an iron weight on the end of   
it. In his other hand, its middle attached to the other   
end of the chain, was a pike over 3 meters long with a   
straightedge scythe on the other end. "I'll skin the   
beast as a memento! The family will pass it down through   
the generations! They remember the time when the   
"Watanabe School of Togakure Ninjutsu" lived again!"  
  
Somehow the black-and-white panda turned pale and fled.  
  
Mr. Watanabe's weight didn't have the chance to either   
hit or wrap itself around the panda. Kaneda stopped it.   
He let it wrap itself around his arm, where he caught the   
weight in his hand.   
  
Mr. Watanabe cried, "Who are you to interfere with a   
ninja protecting his pledged family from an invader!?!   
Are you responsible for that creature!?!"  
  
Kaneda said, "Grandfather," and bowed. But he made sure   
to keep an eye on the weapon. The kami yari was level.   
The strange man could decide to stab him with the point   
or slash him with the blade.   
  
The old man decided, instead, to pull at the chain still   
wrapped around Kaneda's hand. "I may be a grandfather,   
but I'm not so old I can't kill a bear!"  
  
Bowing lower, Kaneda picked up one of the strewn   
leaflets, "As you can see, Grandfather, he wasn't an   
invader. He was just distributing ads." He showed it to   
the man with his free hand. "It's a costume shop. It you   
want a panda skin, I'm sure you can get one cheap there."  
  
The old, weathered man looked at the leaflet with obvious   
disappointment. He salvaged his face with, "The lackey of   
merchants shouldn't invade other people's property! Why   
do you think we all have privacy walls!?!"  
  
Kaneda let go of the weight and shook the chain off, "I   
know. There's a reason he looks like a dumb animal. But   
look at it this way, he doesn't put up any of the   
leaflets up on those walls. You know how strict Nerima is   
about posting." It was true. The Greater Nerima area had   
the barest walls and poles to be seen. There was even a   
story of a local gaki ghost that does something terrible   
to people that put things on concrete.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Kaneda was walking to his own front door when he heard   
Ranma-kun yell from the garden: "Put some pants on, Pop!!   
All you've got on is a stupid tux coat!"  
  
Kaneda went off the path, and headed around towards the   
garden.   
  
Future Father-in-law said, "You shouldn't have used that   
teakettle on me! It's not my fault I can't change my   
clothes, too!"  
  
Kaneda's eyes opened wider at this news.  
  
Ranma-kun said, "At least be a panda! Nobody cares if a   
panda's naked!"   
  
Splash!  
  
Poking his head at last around the corner, Kaneda was in   
time to see a tuxedo-wearing panda rising from the koi   
pond. It held up a sign, [Now, I'm going to have to pay   
for the dry cleaning!]  
  
Kaneda brought his head back around the corner. "Nabiki!   
She took Mr. Saotome's clothes from his traveling pack."  
  
Ranma-kun asked, "What is a panda doin' in a tux,   
anyway!?!" After the panda signed, Ranma-kun said, "You!?   
A job? Right. What? Your "Good Friend" ain't gonna let   
you freeload any more!?!"  
  
Kaneda's former opinion of Ranma's father returned, "The   
panda was only working because Nabiki blackmailed him. I   
bet he WASN'T trying to pay his way!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
When it came time to eat supper, Ranma and his father   
were still arguing, by both non/and verbal   
communications.   
  
And Kaneda had been near them, watching the whole time.   
He was at the other end of the family table from his own   
father. The Saotomes sat along the side near the open   
garden door.   
  
Saotome He doesn't deserve a polite form. was sitting   
at the family table, back in his white do-gi. But he   
still had the black top hat on, "I WON'T take this hat   
off at the table!"  
  
Ranma-kun, next to him, sneered, "You just don't want   
people too see your bald head."  
  
Saotome said with dignity, "Don't you know, boy: Bald is   
in! It makes a man look more rugged and handsome."  
  
Ranma-kun reached for the hat, "Then we GOTTA take that   
hat off!" And as he struggled hand-to-hand with his pop,   
he said, "Your ugly puss needs all the help it can get!"  
  
Kaneda wondered, "How does that hat stay on, even in the   
middle of a fight?"  
  
His dad told him, "It was one of the techniques my friend   
Genma developed. He said his baldness reminded him   
of...well, a little man he didn't care for." Which didn't   
mean Genma hadn't been self-conscious before. He had   
started going bald at a very young age.  
  
The Saotomes stopped the worse of their rough housing   
when Kasumi came in. She was not carrying supper, but a   
teakettle and a pail of water. She said, "Nabiki should   
have replaced your headcloth when she put your clothes   
back in your pack, Uncle Saotome. She should NOT have   
gone into your room in the first place. It was wrong."  
  
Ranma-kun asked, "What is WITH all the quick-changing of   
the clothes?"   
  
Kaneda offered, "I could teach the technique to you,   
Ranma."  
  
Ranma-kun got a sour face, "No thank you! I'm gonna hold   
onto as much of my guyness as I got left. If somebody can   
get my old man in a monkey-suit, I ain't gonna give 'em a   
chance to get me in a prom dress or nothing." Ranma   
realized he hadn't meant "nothing" like naked...like Pop   
had been in the garden. But now that Ranma thought it,   
being nude would be better THAN being in a dress.  
  
It did not help his mood.   
  
Kaneda's mood wasn't much better, Rrr! That's going to   
make it that much more of a challenge to get Ranma over   
her conditioning. No good future father-in-law.  
  
Nabiki came into the room, "Okay. Everything's back where   
I found them."  
  
Kasumi had set the teakettle down on the table; now she   
placed the pail of water beside the elder guest, "Uncle   
Saotome, it will be quicker if you change down here."  
  
Genma Saotome looked at the water. It was plain on his   
face he did not like the idea of becoming an animal   
again, even for a moment.  
  
Meanwhile, Kaneda was thinking, He didn't EXPECT an   
apology, let alone demand one. Not that he's likely to   
get one from Nabiki.  
  
Keeping his back straight, the future father-in-law   
dipped his hands in the pail, and brought them up.  
  
Kaneda thought, ...I guess if you want apologies from   
others, they might expect apologies from you. I bet   
Saotome owes a lot of them.   
  
Saotome splashed his face. The panda took his place,   
without the top hat.   
  
Kaneda thought, Well, THAT part of the change is the   
same. How fast Kaneda changed depended on how hot the   
water was and where it splashed on him more than how much   
water got him. The easiest change was when it was around   
or above his heart. And, it seems, their hearts, too.  
  
(Meanwhile, Kaneda's dad had been overly polite about not   
noticing anything different about his friend and guest.)  
  
The panda picked up the teakettle and poured the hot   
water inside on top of its hatless headKaneda's future   
father-in-law took the place of the panda. The man had   
on his usual headcloth, besides his do-gi.  
  
Saotome tried to see what he felt on his head. He was   
obviously happy to have something sensible on his head   
again.  
  
Nabiki was explaining as she sat down, "Uncle Saotome and   
I had a deal. I found him a job..." She then gave him the   
cold eye, "...But he tried to duck his responsibility."   
  
Ranma-kun also looked at his father: "Gee, imagine that."  
  
Genma Saotome said, "It is undignified for a master   
martial artist to be a beast of burden."  
  
Ranma-kun raised his voice, "A panda IS beast! And as far   
as "burden" goes--Lose some weight!"  
  
Nabiki said, "I know of all the jobs a martial artist can   
get in the area. There's more money in being a plush   
animal."  
  
Soun Tendou spoke out, "I am sure this is all a   
misunderstanding. I am sure Genma remembers the   
importance of responsibility he learned in our younger   
days. If we just discuss this..."  
  
Kaneda was beginning to think his changing into a girl   
wasn't the only thing his father preferred to forget.   
I'm glad I didn't inherit his selective memory.  
  
Kasumi said, "Kaneda, would you come to the kitchen with   
me?"  
  
Kaneda looked at Oneesan, "Since when do you need   
anybody's help in the kitchen?"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kasumi was waiting for Kaneda when he came into the   
kitchen. She gave him a follow-me look and left through   
the side door.  
  
Kasumi was waiting further out on the side yard. After   
Kaneda had closed the door behind him, she said, "I think   
it's about time to think about having Akane over as a   
guest."  
  
Kaneda knew this was coming, but still: "You, you want me   
to be a GIRL--On purpose!!?! Kasumi, I'm a guy!!" He   
walked quickly over to her.   
  
Kasumi backed away, "You were born a girl. You were MEANT   
to be a girl. You are going against your karma. Who knows   
how much further damage your are doing to it."   
  
The thought of REMAINING a girl made Kaneda desperate for   
an idea, "Karma!? If karma directs your life, why hasn't   
it shown up before now?!" He started pacing, "I mean, if   
I was MEANT to be a girl, shouldn't I, LIKE guys!?!   
What!? I was SUPPOSED to be a girl who likes girls?!"  
  
Kasumi blushed, "As in..."like"!? Oh, my! I hadn't   
thought of that." Her brow furrowed in thought,   
"...Still, if you were to be a girl long enough...."  
  
Kaneda stopped his pacing: "Ranma! Karma made her a   
girl!!" He hurried back to her, "While we were in the   
afterlife waiting to be reborn, maybe we got switched!   
This whole thing could be karma correcting the accident!   
See!?!! Ranma was MEANT to be a girl!" It helped his case   
that it fit well with what Kaneda truly believed.  
  
When others may blink at a thought, Kasumi didn't, "A   
karmic...accident?" She had to give that some thought.   
"Then why has it taken so long with Ranma?"  
  
Kaneda had that answer, "Because of her father!" He   
frowned at the thought of the man. "He will do anything   
to make a man out of Ranma. He'd defy the gods, if he has   
to. If we ask him, I bet he'd say, "It's a martial   
artist's job to challenge destiny and karma"."  
  
Kasumi was still pondering, "...Well, Mr. Saotome does   
seem to put great importance in having a son." Then she   
sighed, "Just like Father."  
  
Kaneda brightened, "Karma corrected the mistake with me   
first: Because of Father! Father is more in tune with the   
wills of the gods than Mr. Saotome!" Then he gave Kasumi   
as sincere a look as he was capable of, "Wouldn't you   
LIKE to believe that about Father?"  
  
Kasumi's crumbling resolve nearly broke, "Father?"   
  
Kaneda thought he could feel it. He had almost won. All   
he needed was one last argument, and...  
  
Kasumi said, "This is beyond me. We shall take a trip to   
the temple and ask for guidance."  
  
Kaneda felt his victory slipping away, "The local temple   
isn't any good for that kind of thing!! It just   
commemorates some dumb wild horse. The best you can get   
from it are charms."  
  
Kasumi nodded. She said, "Then we shall find a temple   
that can help us." She thought of a moment, "For   
something this important, I'll let my favorite charm   
direct the choice. It'll help bring good luck."  
  
Kaneda was a skeptic; he didn't really believe. "Kasumi,   
that omamori isn't an amulet! It's a talisman. An amulet   
is supposed to attract luck. A talisman is supposed to   
keep away--" But then, neither did he disbelieve:   
"Kasumi, since this is about ME, why don't we use MY   
talisman!" Maybe it'll keep the bad luck of having to be   
a girl away.  
  
Kasumi didn't blink again. "Oh, my! The one Father got on   
the day you were born? But didn't the strange old woman   
who sold it to him say that it was to remain under your   
mattress?"  
  
Kaneda almost chuckled, "I'm sure no evil will jump out   
from under my bed during the few minutes it will take you   
to use it."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
When they came back inside the kitchen, Kasumi asked,   
"Kaneda, will you serve supper for me?"  
  
Kaneda protested, "That's for girls! You said you would   
stop thinking about me that way until..."  
  
Kasumi gently agreed with him, "...Until after we visit a   
temple"." She nodded as she smiled her calming smile. "It   
is getting late. Most temples are already closing."   
Traditional temples, those not on clocks, were open from   
dawn to dusk. "The sooner we have a clear path, the   
sooner the house can return to its serenity."  
  
Kaneda wanted to scoff. The Tendou house was seldom   
serene. But he couldn't do that to Kasumi, You mean your   
own serenity, dear Oneesan.  
  
Kaneda still didn't want to do it. I could ask Ranma to   
do it. THAT would cause a fight. But Oneesan HAD asked   
him. He lifted the tray with the bowls of kelp soup on   
it.   
  
He, of course, ended up spilling some on himself.   
  
Kasumi paused at the kitchen door to look at the girl in   
the pink jumper, and white blouse and socks. "Oh, my.   
Perhaps this is an sign."  
  
The black haired Kane-chan just looked at her. No.   
Kasumi didn't plan this. That's not like her. ...Is it?  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kane-chan set the tray back down, and went to the sink.  
  
After changing back to himself and his regular clothes,   
he picked up the tray again.  
  
When it happened again, Kane-chan said glumly,   
"Maybe it is a sign."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
When Kane-chan brought the tray into the family room,   
Ranma-chan was yelling at her father, "What'd you do that   
for!!?!"  
  
Saotome told her, "How would you like to have a part time   
job!? I'm sure there are openings for a waitRESS!" It   
hurt him to say that about his son. But he was in the   
mood to test just how much of a "son" Ranma was.   
  
Ranma-chan hit him, "I ain't gonna be work as a girl!"   
The other hand emptied what was left of the water in the   
pail over her pop's head, "I'd rather live off the land!"   
She glared at the panda, "I had enough practice the   
way you raised me!"  
  
The panda signed, [I did it not to spoil you].  
  
Ranma-chan told him, "Go eat bamboo!"  
  
Nabiki said, seeing Kane-chan, "Speaking of waitresses.   
Akane! You even have the costume almost right." Nabiki   
smiled, "We just have to raise the hem, and lower the   
jumper's bib." She was of course referring to the type of   
waitress uniform so popular among Japanese cartoonists.   
  
Setting the tray on the table, Kane-chan glared at her,   
"I'm not letting you get me a job, either."   
  
As the panda poured hot water from the teakettle over   
itself, Ranma-chan said to Kane-chan, "Well! You DO   
know how to act like a girl." Kane-chan noticed that   
Ranma-chan went from looking at her boobs down to her l  
egs. (At least the hem was knee-length.)  
  
Kane-chan wanted Ranma-chan to look at her as a guy.   
Crossing her arms over those boobs, she told her, "Not   
any more!" She plopped down onto the floor on her now   
padded butt. "If anybody wants to eat anything else, they   
can get it themselves!" She sat like a guy, with her   
knees apart.  
  
Kaneda's future father-in-law told Ranma-chan, "Go get us   
our supper, Ranma! It'll be good waitress practice."  
  
Ranma-chan turned to glare at him, "I told you, I--HEY!   
Don't drink that hot water!!" She lunged at him, and   
tried to grab the teakettle away from her so-called   
father.   
  
But his future father-in-law kept her at his longer arm-  
length away as he drank from the spout.  
  
Kane-chan nodded to herself. Right! I've been studying   
them long enough, I think. I've got the idea how Ranma's   
dad pulls her strings. "As long as you're in the   
kitchen, you can use the tap to change...That is IF you   
don't WANT to be a girl."  
  
Ranma-chan slammed her small fist down on the table so   
hard the bowls jumped, "I TOLD you: Only HOT hot water   
gets rid of my curse!" Her head snapped back in time to   
see her pop finish the last of the kettle's water. "Why you!!"   
She would have beaten him up, if they weren't guests at a   
dinner table.   
  
Kane-chan said sarcastically, "Oh, that's right. You're   
much more stuck as a girl as I can be. All *I* have to do   
is turn on the cold water."  
  
Feeling frustrated, Ranma-chan slammed both palms on the   
table as she leaned over it, "Then go in there do it! THEN   
bring us our supper!"  
  
Kane-chan leaned forward in a challenge, "Then I WOULDN'T   
be a girl."  
  
Nabiki said, "Well, SOMEBODY has to serve supper."  
  
BOTH Kane-chan and Ranma-chan glared at her.   
  
Nabiki glared back at them, "I'm management. Management   
does not serve."  
  
Kane-chan said, "This is a strike. That's when management   
lowers itself."  
  
Ranma-chan said, "Yeah!"  
  
Nabiki leaned an elbow on the table, "I've been a girl   
longer than either of you. I know about diets. Let's SEE   
who can hold out the longest."  
  
That's when Ranma's stomach growled.   
  
Kane-chan said, "That's not very lady-like."  
  
Ranma-chan yelled, "Shut up!"  
  
Saotome started to rise, "Then *I* shall serve."  
  
Ranma-chan yanked a leg out from under him, "You just   
want to eat MY share, Old Man!" His Old Man had already   
finished off his and his own soups!  
  
Kane-chan said, "And YOU wouldn't, Ranma? Do you steal   
other people's food, too?"  
  
Ranma-chan rose to her knees, "No!! *I* don't take other   
people's food!" ...most of the time. And ONLY when she   
was really starving. (Of course, with how hard she   
trained, she starved fairly often.) "Just Pop's! And only   
because HE steals mine!"  
  
Kane-chan rose to her knees, "Then PROVE it! Go in there   
and serve us OUR food: Yourself last."  
  
Ranma-chan went up on one foot, "What kind of stupid   
challenge is that!?!"  
  
Her pop frowned at Ranma, "My son has no honor when it   
comes to food."  
  
Ranma-chan was up, now. One foot was still on the floor;   
the other one was poised to stomp her Old Man. "You must   
be thinkin' about yourself!"  
  
Kane-chan said, "She just doesn't have the will power to   
wait to eat."  
  
Stomping the floor in frustration, Ranma-chan growled   
even louder than her stomach. She then tromped out for   
the kitchen.  
  
Nabiki just looked at the other two. She made no comment,   
but it was clear from her look she recognized a masterful   
con. She would have to reassess her little sibling's   
abilities...and character.  
  
Kane-chan ignored Nabiki. She told her guilt, When Ranma   
comes back with the food, I'll say something nice to her.   
She'll begin to see acting nice makes her feel nice. And   
being nice is part of being feminine. Kane-chan had   
nearly as many warped ideas about what it meant to be a   
real girl as Ranma.   
  
But Kane-chan wanted to be served as a guy by Ranma-chan.   
She looked for some cold water.   
  
Saotome was about to pour a glass of water on Kane-chan's   
dad! "Soun, my old friend! Come out of it, man. You're   
going to miss supper."   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kasumi had come downstairs with Kaneda's omamori   
talisman. It was a rectangle of pink silk with two holes   
for a loop of red string. On one side was a gold emblem   
with black kanji characters written over it: [By grace of   
Benten, let Amaterisu have the ears of the Kamis of   
Water].  
  
She took it over to the phone table across from the front   
door.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
The first thing Soun Tendou saw when he came out of his   
trance was Kane-chan.   
  
His eyes began to glaze over.  
  
Kane-chan froze.  
  
Nabiki pulled Kane-chan down by a shoulder strap of her   
dress. She said, "Daddy, this is Akane Saotome." She then   
fixed a laser like eye on the girl in her grasp. "Isn't   
that right: Akane!?"  
  
Akane got the idea. She bowed, awkwardly trying to put   
her knees under her only after, "That's right. I'm, uh,   
Ranma's cousin, Akane. I'm happy to be a guest in your   
home, Tendou," she swallowed, "....san."  
  
Kaneda's father's anguish eased. "Uh, I'm glad to meet   
you...Akane."  
  
Her possible father-in-law said, "I don't remember   
anybody telling me Ranma has a cousin."  
  
Nabiki informed him, "A niece! You have a niece: As in   
female? ...Or would you rather have a son-in-law?"  
  
Saotome's regard of Akane only changed slightly; but it   
was for the better.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Holing the talisman by its string, Kasumi placed it   
against the section of the phone book that had the   
listings for the temples. Saying a prayer, she then   
riffed the pages, letting the omamori find its way   
between the pages.  
  
She then swung the talisman over the open pages...  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Kane-chan straightened up, placing herself on her legs.   
She had to sit like a girl now that she had to pretend to   
be a girl. She asked, "Is there anything wrong, Mr.,   
Tendou?" She looked down at the body she was in. What   
else am I doing wrong?  
  
Kaneda's father started getting misty eyed. "No, not...at   
all, Miss. It's just, just that you remind me, of   
somebody."  
  
Kane-chan's sigh was nearly a groan, He's not going to   
blank out on us, but he is going to cry! At least when   
he's in his trance we can have a little peace. She hung   
her head, As long as Akane's around, he's going to be   
reminded of something he WANTS to forget.  
  
Soun Tendou's tears began to run, "You're the very image   
of my dear, departed wife! Oh, how I've missed her these   
past ten long years!" His tears flowed, now, as his voice   
rose in feeling, "It's as if clock had returned far   
beyond her that sad time--To the very day I first met my   
dearest Kimiko!"  
  
Kane-chan had leaned WAY back. Only one hand kept her   
from falling over. "I don't look that much like Mom--Um,   
Mrs. Tendou!"  
  
Nabiki smirked a smile, "Oh, I wouldn't say that. I'd say   
you resemble her as much as Kasumi or I." Actually there   
was a very strong resemblance. "And Kimiko means   
"Beautiful Girl"." She rested her chin on the back of her   
hand, "There's nothing wrong with being considered a   
beautiful girl, is there?"  
  
Saotome also got an wicked glint in his eyes, "Now that   
it's come up: Yes, I say she DOES look like your   
wonderful Kimiko, Soun. In her younger days, before she   
was lined and wrinkled."  
  
Kane-chan raised her voice, "She was never lined and   
wrinkled!"  
  
Saotome said, "No, but the photograph Soun carried around   
with him everywhere got that way. He loved her very   
much."  
  
Trying to get control of himself, Soun Tendou asked as   
politely as he could at the moment, "And wha, what did   
you say your name was, again, Miss?"  
  
Kane-chan knew she should run, but she said, "A, Akane.   
Akane, Saotome."  
  
Soun Tendou was instantly up on one knee, "Saotome!??!   
Did you say your name was SAOTOME!?!!"  
  
Any answer Kane-chan could come up with was stuck in her   
thin neck.  
  
Saotome answered for her, "Yes, Soun; that's what she   
tells me. She's a cousin of my son Ranma."  
  
Soun rose up full. He bowed formally to Akane, "Would you   
consider dating me, Miss Saotome?!"  
  
Kane-chan now DID try to run. She scrambled on her hands   
and knees as her toes dug into the tatami mats to lift   
herself. "NO WAY!!"   
  
She banged her head on the tray Ranma-chan had just   
brought in. With quick reflexes she caught the tampura   
prawns, sweet potatoes, and mixed vegetables again.   
But she let the teacups of hot water she'd made sure to   
bring fall.   
  
Splash. Splash.  
  
Kaneda had only escaped being a girl. Ranma-kun blocked   
his exit.   
  
Ranma-kun looked up at the guy two inches taller than   
himself, and smiled. He glanced at the others, "I heard   
something. But what exactly was it?"  
  
Nabiki struggled to not to appear as shocked as she felt,   
"Daddy, he just asked Kan--Akane for a date."  
  
Soun Tendou bowed his head, red faced, "I'm afraid   
embarrassed the innocent girl, and she fled. I was   
overcome by her beauty and charm."  
  
Kaneda turned, and backed up against Ranma-kun, "She's   
too young for you!!"  
  
Soun Tendou sighed, "You're right. She obviously doesn't   
care for older men." Then he brightened, "But she's not   
too young for you, my son!" he said, looking straight at   
him.   
  
Kaneda cried, "What!??!"  
  
His dad said with hard resolve, "Having her around as a   
daughter-in-law will be enjoyment enough." His eyes began   
to water again, "Just to be able to gaze upon my dear   
Kimiko's face again...."  
  
Kaneda stammered, "But, but, I'm already engaged, to,   
to...." His hands patted....  
  
Through half-lidded eyes Ranma-kun said, "Yeah? WHO are   
you engaged to, FELLA?"  
  
Saotome smiled, "What a wonderful idea, Soun! We can make   
the announcements official: Kaneda and Akane, and Ranma   
and Kasumi!"  
  
Kaneda yelled, "You can't do that!"  
  
Ranma-kun yelled, "Yeah!"  
  
Saotome gave him his sly stare, "As the eldest Saotome,   
and the head of the clan: I can."  
  
  
The End of this chapter  
[Notes: Kaneda's may be different from the typical   
omamori because it is a special talisman.  
---Amaterisu is, of course, the Goddess of the Sun.   
---Benten was originally Sarasvati, the Hindu god of   
water who became the Japanese goddess of "Reasoning   
Facility", love, eloquence, wisdom, the arts, music,   
knowledge, good fortune, power, fame, and long life as   
well as water. She is also one of the seven lucky gods.  
---There are more than one water kami.] 


	9. 09: May The Goddess Bless

Ranma & Kaneda  
By Ron Dow75  
From an idea by James M. Zema,  
Unauthorized, but allowed.  
  
09: May the Goddess Bless   
  
  
Nabiki said in a serious voice, "As interesting as the   
thought of Kaneda getting engaged to Akane is, let alone   
married, I don't think you can do that, Uncle Saotome."  
  
"Uncle" Saotome said as seriously, "The girl Akane claims   
to be a Saotome. I am the eldest Saotome, and therefore   
head of the clan. I and the head of the Tendou clan have   
agreed to the engagements of Ranma Saotome and Kasumi   
Tendou, and Kaneda Tendou and Akane Saotome."  
  
Soun Tendou nodded, "That is correct. All in accordance   
with the ancient tradition of arranged marriage." He said   
it with a renewed purpose in life.  
  
Redheaded Kaneda yelled, "In case you didn't notice, this   
ISN'T ancient times! Japan has a constitution--With   
rights!!"  
  
Standing behind him, Ranma-kun said, "Yeah!" Then he   
asked, "What kind of rights?" He was eating a prawn he'd   
taken from the tray of supper dishes he held in the other   
hand.  
  
Nabiki gave Kaneda a "shut up" look. Little Brother had a   
talent for going off on the wrong track, "Actually we   
should respect traditions." Kaneda thought, What!?!   
NABIKI said that??  
  
Uncle Saotome got a pleased look on his face. He had   
gained another ally. The numbers were in his favor.  
  
Nabiki said, "If everybody will sit down, I can mediate   
this before there is any expensive property damage."  
  
A sullen Ranma-kun asked, "Whose side is she on?"  
  
Kaneda answered, "Her own."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
The two fathers sat on the side of the family table   
nearest the still open garden door; the two sons sat   
opposite; and Nabiki sat at the end her father had just   
left. She said, "Daddy isn't the head of the clan. But   
that's not important, since Kaneda and Kasumi ARE his   
children. What he says goes up until Great-Granddaddy   
gets involved.  
  
"And we DON'T want to involve Great-Granddaddy." And Soun   
Tendou heartily agreed. Kaneda, though, thought, If all   
else fails....  
  
Nabiki now addressed "Uncle" Saotome, "You, as Ranma's   
father, can also arrange a marriage contract for your   
child. But you cannot arrange one for Akane, because...."   
She allowed a short pause for dramatic effect. "...you   
are not the head of her Saotome clan."  
  
Genma Saotome said incredulously, "What!?!"  
  
Her arms crossed on the table, she leaned forward. "Akane   
Saotome comes from Fukuoka. Are YOU one of the Fukuoka   
Saotome?"  
  
Genma Saotome said, " "Fukuoka"?? But she's really...."   
He looked at his friend Soun sitting next to him. He   
remembered Wednesday night, the day he and Ranma arrived   
at the Tendous. He had left with Soun. He then spent the   
whole night trying to talk some sense to him about Kaneda   
wanting to be RANMA'S fiance! Tendou had been a father   
first. He said it was understandable Kaneda could be   
fooled by a [Genma felt sick] "kawaii" face. He said the   
teenager would soon realize the truth about Ranma.  
  
But most frustrating of all was when Genma even MENTIONED   
that the Kaneda became a girl. Tendou wouldn't hear of   
it: Literally! And when Tendou was in his trance, he   
COULDN'T hear anything! Worse: When he was brought out of   
it, Tendou wouldn't remember anything he didn't WANT to   
remember!  
  
Fuming almost visibly, Genma Saotome told Nabiki, "If   
Akane Saotome WERE from Fukuoka, she would not be my   
responsibility."  
  
Nabiki smiled as if she'd caught somebody in one of her   
snares, "Exactly. The only responsibility you would owe   
her is same any Saotome would owe to another Saotome."  
  
Ranma-kun said, "*Hmmf* I don't remember any Saotome   
helpin' US the times we were in Fukuoka."  
  
Soun Tendou the patriarch said, "Still! The social norms   
DO say one should extend aide and hospitality to one's   
own kind."   
  
Nabiki said, "I'm glad to hear you say that, Daddy."  
  
That was Kaneda's dad. Sigh! Dad just doesn't think   
things through. Then when it comes time to face reality,   
he's so afraid of losing face he doesn't. That's probably   
how he ended up in that agreement to marry one of his   
kids to Saotome's.  
  
Kasumi entered the room; she announced, "I think I've   
found a temple that can help us."  
  
Ranma-kun asked, "Why do we need to go to a temple?"  
  
Genma said, "Well, I could use some advice from the   
goddess of ideas."  
  
Soun said, "Yes, of course. But before we have a formal   
engagement ceremony, we need to finalize the marriage   
contract."  
  
Nabiki said, "I could prepare the contract."  
  
Genma told her, "I would prefer to have somebody ELSE   
draw it up."  
  
Kasumi didn't blink, " "Marriage contract"? Oh, my! Have   
things progressed that far, that quickly? Who is to be   
the bride?"  
  
Her father smiled, "You are, Kasumi! Ranma here has   
agreed to be your fiance!"  
  
Ranma told him, "I have not! I haven't agreed to get tied   
up to anybody, even temporary."  
  
Genma smiled wickedly, "And KANEDA will marry Akane. (Ha!   
Ha! Ha!)"  
  
Kasumi cried, "Oh, My! Poor Kaneda. ...and Akane."   
  
Kaneda produced a mallet, "We just established Akane   
WON'T marry me!"  
  
Kaneda's dad looked disapprovingly at his mallet. (Kaneda   
put it under the table.) His dad said, "That hasn't been   
established. All that's been determined is that Genma has   
little authority to compel her to marry." His tears began   
to flow, "But if you truly wish to honor your father, you   
WILL marry Akane!!"   
  
Kaneda groaned. His dad's passionate crying was not an   
act. Why do I have to look so much like Mom!? I should   
just tell him Akane his daughter and.... He hung her   
head in defeat, And have him go into complete denial. A   
daughter-in-law, he can fantasize about. Sick.  
  
Kasumi approached her father, "And, you wish me to show   
the same deference, as well, Father? And marry, Ranma?"   
  
Soun said, trying to compose himself, though no less   
ardent, "Yes. I wish to see all of my children in   
appropriate marriages. You are from a family with a proud   
martial arts tradition. THAT is your station and mission   
in life: To carry ON that tradition!"  
  
Nabiki refrained from bringing any attention to herself.  
  
Kasumi knelt down. Placing her hands in her lap. She said   
in a formal manner, "If that is your wish, Father, that   
is my wish."  
  
Kaneda felt himself being swept up in a whirlpool of   
despair. He'd lost Ranma!  
  
...And all he got in return was, herself.  
  
Kasumi said, "I have only one request of you, Father."  
  
Feeling that his fondest wishes WERE coming true, Soun   
Tendou said, "Of course, Kasumi, my daughter. Whatever it   
is, it is yours."  
  
She bowed her head modestly. "I wish to visit the temple   
I mentioned. We should consult with the gods. If they   
have no objection to the marriage, I will agree to it at   
the engagement ceremony."  
  
Kaneda did his best to hold back his tears, "Well I won't   
agree to it!!"   
  
Ranma-kun was about to agree with him, when Kaneda's   
voice became loud enough to drown all others out: "I   
won't agree to anything!! Marriage contracts!!   
Engagements ceremonies!! Marriage ceremonies!! YOU may   
arrange our lives--But WE have to agree to them!!! You   
can't do ANY of those without our consent!!"  
  
Kasumi said in a quiet voice that broke through her   
brother's scream of pain, "And if we do not agree, we   
become outcasts without a family."   
  
Nabiki was unmoved by anybody in the room, "Kaneda, my   
slow-witted sibling. You don't have to go through the   
melodramatics. Trust me." Then she smirked, "In the   
meantime, why not go with Kasumi to her temple. Humor   
her. Who knows, it might even do some good."  
  
Kaneda said in torment, "Since when do you believe in the   
gods and blessings!?!"  
  
Nabiki said, "I don't. But I do believe in people who   
believe in gods and luck." Said the bookie.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Kaneda skipped supper. He could not face the people who   
had ruined his life--No: DESTROYED his life!  
  
He had to hit something!!!  
  
He went to the practice dummy out beside the arena. In   
the last light of the day, he punched, chopped, jabbed,   
clawed, thrust, and pummeled the sawdust-filled bag   
wrapped around the post. When those weren't enough, he   
started coming up with new hitting techniques.   
  
He was on the verge of bringing out his biggest mallet   
when Ranma-kun came out of the house. Out of habit, Ranma   
stood by and casually studied Kaneda's abilities. Kaneda   
was so upset he didn't care if Ranma DID learn anything.   
  
At last Ranma-kun said, "I ate your supper."  
  
Kaneda kept striking his opponent who wouldn't fight   
back, "Then you lost the challenge. You were supposed   
begin eating after me."  
  
Ranma-kun asked, "Yeah!? And what's the penalty?"  
  
Kaneda paused to tell him, "You have to serve--" He   
stopped. "Aw, what's the use." And he lashed out with the   
Tendou Upper Body Whip Crack: He broke through the canvas   
bag, and deep into the sawdust.   
  
Kaneda then just stood there, trying to feel something   
other than rage. He was not focusing on the Ranma beside   
him.  
  
Ranma-kun raised his foot. In seemingly one kick, Ranma   
splintered the post nearly in two.   
  
Bringing his foot back down, Ranma-kun said, "That's   
right. You can't make me pay any penalty."  
  
Kaneda turned away. The idea of honor was bitter, now.   
Ranma and Kasumi were duty-bound to respect the wishes of   
their fathers. He walked over to the cinderblocks. He   
asked, "Why didn't you beat the stupid fiance-idea out of   
me?"  
  
Ranma-kun said, "Because I don't want to be hooked to   
anybody. Geez! It's bad enough to be on Pop's chain. Like   
I need somebody else tellin' me how to live my life!?"  
  
Kaneda thought, But you do need somebody to tell you how   
to live. That's all you've known. Until you decide to   
change, you'll be unable to make the boring decisions.   
Poor Kasumi: You'll both be stuck in an empty, unhappy   
marriage. Each of you will want the other to tell them   
what to do when it's beyond what you're good at. But he   
said, "So you thought your dad might give up the idea, if   
the only one who'd agreed to marry you was me!"  
  
Ranma-kun ambled over, "That's about the size of it." He   
almost smiled, "AND it got under Pop's skin." A bonus.   
But then he had to frown, "Your sister fouled up that   
idea."  
  
Kaneda smashed the cinderblocks to pieces. He then   
straightened up, "I guess it was a doomed idea. Kasumi   
was always the weak link. She just likes to please   
people." He wished he had the strength to crush the piece   
he'd brought up with him. "Especially Dad. You know:   
Filial Duty!" Even if it means she looses the one she   
really loves.  
  
Kaneda called, "Here!" and tossed the piece at Ranma at   
full force.  
  
Ranma-kun caught it. And broke it between his thumb and   
finger. "She's not pleasing me."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Kaneda enter the dojo, leaving Ranma-kun outside. He   
looked around, Maybe I can take my mind off of it. What   
new traps can I add in here? He had gotten the idea back   
when he had a thing for American comics. Turning the dojo   
into a "Danger Room" would set the Tendou apart from   
others. I wish I knew something about electronics or   
could afford something fancy. But all of my traps are   
just things a good carpenter can make. It helped that   
there were a few times that the dojo had to be entirely   
rebuilt. Don't think about that, either: You're   
discouraged enough!  
  
He stopped trying, his anger replaced by despair. "I   
can't kid myself any more. Ranma's going to inherit the   
dojo." He shuffled about blindly. "Kasumi deserves that.   
This is HER house. This is her neighborhood, with friends   
and acquaintances she grew up with. She wouldn't be happy   
living any place else."  
  
He realized at last he was near the shomen/the main wall   
of the dojo. He drew himself up in the proper position,   
and bowed to the kami of the dojo. It wasn't a god; it   
wasn't even strictly speaking a being. It was the spirit   
of the dojo, one rank above ANY martial arts master who   
would enter the training hall. He showed the respect the   
idea of a dojo deserved. "May Ranma bring you the proper   
honor."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Kaneda reluctantly woke up when he heard somebody   
knocking at his bedroom door. Kasumi said, "Kaneda. It's   
time to get ready for the temple. Breakfast is waiting."  
  
Kaneda grumbled something to let Oneesan know he was up:   
"On a Sunday!? That's my day off."  
  
Kasumi asked, "Are you getting out of bed?"  
  
He threw the covers off; he then just lay there.   
  
Kasumi asked, "Kaneda?"  
  
Kaneda asked, "Kasumi, why did you agree? You don't   
honestly think going to this temple will solve anything,   
do you?" He was ashamed to think that Kasumi might   
actually want to marry Ranma...because of love. Being a   
married woman, she would never have to recognize Dr.   
Tofu's love for her.  
  
Kasumi asked, "May I come in?"  
  
He threw his blanket back over himself and said she   
could. Kasumi entered, giving a little bow at the   
threshold, and closed the door behind her. There she   
stayed, "Kaneda, I found my zen years ago." she briefly   
left her oneness with the moment for a sad one in the   
past, "...shortly after Mother died. Dr. Tofu helped me   
find it." She returned to her usual state, "I enjoy the   
serenity. Part of that peace is to believing goodwill   
will get back goodwill. If not in this lifetime, in   
another."  
  
Kaneda frowned, " ' Very fatalistic." He had heard   
variations on the confession before. Kasumi's idea of Zen   
wasn't orthodox, but it WAS how she lived her life. He   
still couldn't understand the sense in it. Calm, peace,   
serenity was just not in his nature.  
  
Kasumi smiled, "I also believe in magic." It said she had   
a secret.   
  
Kaneda-the-Cursed couldn't argue against magic. He sat up   
in his bed, "What's the name of the temple?!"  
  
Kasumi said, "You'll see," and let herself out.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Nabiki, on the other hand, preferred the theory of   
probability. That she understood from Western media COULD   
be cheated: Logically. The tales of magic always seemed   
to have hidden conditions that the user didn't find out   
about until it was too late. If there were going to be   
conditions, SHE wanted to be the one setting them.  
  
But Nabiki agreed to walk with everybody until they got   
to the local business district. "I am NOT going to miss   
out on my first chance for a date Kuno-baby since *I*   
broke up with the idiot." She, too, had a secret behind   
her smile. The unraveling of her fantasies (both   
financial and sexual) was still fresh. Whatever else she   
had planned, a little petty payback was also on her   
agenda.  
  
The date was for noon, so she dressed casually. She wore   
a white-red-striped pullover, and pleated green slacks.   
  
Kasumi asked, "What will you do until your date, Nabiki?   
It is over an hour away."  
  
Nabiki smiled and waved as she left them, "Window shop!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kasumi wore a colorful kimono decorated with a pattern of   
cranes. While her attire was traditional, the pumps on   
her feet weren't.  
  
Still frowning somewhat, Kaneda said to her, "You're   
really doing it right. You usually don't wear anything   
but skirt and blouse." Kaneda had merely put on a clean   
Furinkan boys' uniform Kasumi had laid out for him.  
  
Kasumi said in a relaxed fashion, "This IS to petition   
the traditional gods on something that will effect the   
rest of our lives."  
  
Kaneda looked down at her shoes, but made no further   
comment on the matter.  
  
Soun Tendou nodded. "How true. It's best to present   
oneself in a way that reminds the gods of a time when we   
mortals were in terrified awe of them." He wore a white   
kimono that was typical for males, but he had insisted on   
wearing a haori/half-coat over it that matched the brown   
do-gi he usually wore. Kaneda noted that his dad DID have   
on traditional getas/clog sandals.   
  
Ranma-kun groused, "I don't see why you have to make a   
big deal of it. Me and Pop always go to religious places   
with whatever we have on." They were in the same, though   
laundered, clothes they were wearing the first day they   
arrived at the Tendous. They were wearing the only   
clothes the Tendous had seen them in for the past five   
days.   
  
Genma told him, "Quiet, Boy! That was only because we   
were travelers who had limit what we carry on our backs."  
  
Ranma glared at him, "Oh, yeah!? Kasumi offered to lend   
you something else, but you wouldn't do it!"  
  
Genma looked for his face, and found it with, "Ha-rmph!   
That's because the gods wouldn't recognize me in anything   
else. THIS is all they know me to wear."  
  
Ranma shifted his glare to the Chinese outfit he was   
wearing, "Then *I* shouldn't go at all! They're not gonna   
recognize me in this thing." Then he muttered, "I wish I   
didn't have to wear stuff like this." A guy who changed   
into a girl DIDN'T want to stand out by wearing clothes   
nobody else wore around him...her.  
  
Kaneda's ears pricked up at that. But then he dropped the   
question. What does it matter to me, any more: Ranma can   
be in low-cut dress slit up to BOTH hips and I'd have no   
right to ask her why! He groaned to himself. All I   
could do is let myself be tortured.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Soun Tendou asked, "How much further is it, Kasumi? We're   
nearly in the next town."  
  
Kasumi smiled patiently, "We're almost there. Actually,   
we're not much further than it is from our home to   
Furinkan High School."  
  
Having been automatically taking notes on the terrain,   
Ranma said, "Except instead of going east, we're going   
south."  
  
Kaneda asked, "How did you find this temple, Kasumi? In   
the telephone book?"  
  
Kasumi said, "Well, actually--"  
  
Kaneda had to interrupt her when he saw the high, genuine   
fortress walls of a huge compound ahead of them: "Oh-wow!   
Why didn't I know a temple like THIS was in Nerima!?!"  
  
Saotome said, "It IS impressive."   
  
Ranma said, "Ha! ' Just a bunch of plastered stone."  
  
Kasumi said, "Oh, my, no. This isn't the temple. That's   
around in back."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
They had to go all the way around the compound that   
covered hectares/acres. It took up at least the same area   
as all of Furinkan High did!   
  
At last they came to a high, wooded hill. The long   
stairway up had a torii gate at the zag in the middle.   
There was no sign to be seen telling the name of the   
temple.   
  
It was only when they reached the top did they see the   
temple walls. The compound appeared to be about the size   
of the Tendou compound, though far older looking.   
  
The thick wall's high, thick wooden door was closed.   
  
Ranma asked, "Now what!?! Do we knock? Do we kick the   
gate down? I could just jump over the wall and let us   
in."  
  
Kasumi fretted, "Oh, my! I hadn't counted on this! This   
temple must be private." She opened her cloth sachet   
purse, and looked inside it, as if she would find the key   
there.  
  
Soun suggested, "Why don't we just see if knocking will   
bring an answer?"   
  
No sooner had Genma raised his fist than a voice yelled   
from inside: "Go away! You're not welcome! This is NOT a   
public temple!"  
  
Kasumi found what she was looking for in her drawstring   
purse, "Mister! I believe I have a pass!"  
  
The old man answered, "I am not a "Mister": I am a   
priest!"  
  
Kasumi held up her "pass", "If you will just look at it."  
  
Kaneda recognized it, "That's my talisman!" It was the   
small rectangle with two holes for a loop of red string.   
On its pink silk was a gold emblem, and writing in black   
kanji that read [By grace of Benten, let Amaterisu have   
the ears of the Kamis of Water.]  
  
Their father became gravely concerned, "The omamori   
that's supposed to remain UNDER your mattress and never   
taken out!?!"  
  
The priest behind the gate yelled, "And why should a   
simple charm give you leave to enter a place best erased   
from the memory of man!!?!"  
  
Kasumi held up the side opposite the one with the kanji   
spell, "Because this temple made this special omamori. It   
says so on the back." As the old priest thought it over,   
she added, "It even has a map. From our house to here."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Behind the gate was a typical, if dilapidated, main   
temple hall. It was set in a sea of stone weathered   
flagstones, with grass growing between their cracks. Only   
here and there were there spaces for grass, flowers and   
trees to deliberately find sunlight. But they, too, were   
untended and overgrown.  
  
Ranma sniffed disapprovingly, "All the temples *I* seen   
are better kept up than this one."  
  
His father agreed, "...Even the poorest."  
  
By the time the old priest with the long gray hair had   
opened the heavy gate with the creaky hinges wide enough   
to allow them to enter, an equally old woman was   
approaching them. She, like the man, was dressed in the   
typical white gi shirt, red hakama/pleated trousers, and   
zori sandals of a Shinto priest. Her long, loose white   
hair nearly touched the ground she was stooped over so   
much. And though she walked awkwardly, she didn't use a   
cane or staff. She greeted them, "What can my husband and   
I do for you...guests?"  
  
Then her bright eyes spotted the omamori Kasumi held. Her   
attitude changed, "Ah! Come this way: Around to the   
back."  
  
They followed her; and the old priest followed them.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
The flagstone theme continued all around the temple. In   
back, at the edge of the courtyard, there was a small   
building about the size of a bedroom. Beyond that, tucked   
away in back almost hidden among the corpse of trees, was   
the caretakers' residence.   
  
The old priestess at last turned to them, and said, "Our   
name is Ryoushin. We welcome you as our guests to the   
Temple of the Nine Abilities."  
  
Saotome was interested, "..."Nine Abilities"?"  
  
Mrs. Ryoushin said, "You have heard of the goddess   
Benten, I assume?"  
  
Kasumi said, "Benten is one of the seven lucky gods.   
  
Soun Tendou elaborated, "She is the goddess of reason   
ability, wisdom, knowledge, music, the arts,   
eloquence..."  
  
(The old priest said, "And love! Do not forget she is a   
goddess of love!")  
  
Ignoring her husband, the old priestess said, "Would not   
you say that Benten, being the goddess of all of that,   
makes her the goddess of at LEAST nine abilities?"  
  
Saotome nodded enthusiastically, "That it does!"  
  
Kaneda conceded, "Well, "nine abilities" IS the literal   
meaning of ideograph for "capable"."  
  
The old priest raised his voice as he insisted, "And   
LOVE! Do not forget Benten is also the goddess of love!!"  
  
The old priestess said, "Quiet, you old fool! Is that ALL   
you think about!?"   
  
The visitors TRIED not to think about it.  
  
The old priestess said, "Excuse my husband. He gets other   
gods of love confused with Benten."  
  
Soun said in as dignified manner as he could, "That's   
quite understandable. Their, uh, 'myths' often have   
surface similarities."  
  
The old priestess said, "Benten is FIRST a goddess of   
enlightened love."  
  
The old priest said, "And THEN physical love!" He   
addressed them newcomers, "...Inspired love makes for the   
best kind, you know." And he insisted, "It's been PROVEN   
by science!"  
  
Again everybody had a giant sweatdrop, with Kasumi   
blushing the most.  
  
Everybody but Ranma-kun who didn't seem able to make the   
connection, "So that's why we're here. But I don't see   
what love's gotta do with an arranged marriage."  
  
The old priest cried, "Didn't you HEAR what I said about   
love!!" He took out a meter-long bamboo blowgun, and hit   
Ranma in the back of the head with a pebble.  
  
Ranma put his hand over the area, "Hey!" He glared over   
his shoulder at the old man.   
  
Mrs. Ryoushin said, "Arranged marriages fail, or SHOULD   
fail. Love can make any hardship easier to bear. And the   
goddess can inspire love." Her alert gaze narrowed on   
Kasumi, but she addressed the others, "If that is why you   
are here, we the priests of Benten can help you find the   
path towards enlightened love."  
  
The old priestess asked Kasumi, "Is this omamori yours?"  
  
Having still not lost her blush, Kasumi said, "Oh, my,   
no! This is my brother's."   
  
Seeing the family resemblance, the old priestess asked   
Kaneda, "You object to the marriage?"   
  
Kaneda said, "You bet!" But he looked at his dad, and   
backed down from giving a full display of his anger. The   
matter was settled as far as his parent was concerned.  
  
The old woman gave the once over to Mr. Saotome. "I can   
understand why you would not want to marry this ugly,   
middle-aged man."  
  
Though feeling offended, Genma Saotome was more concerned   
about pushing Ranma-kun forward, "Madam! It is my SON   
that is to marry Tendou's daughter, there!"  
  
Ranma-kun yelled, "Hey! I haven't agreed to anything!"  
  
The old priestess asked Ranma, "Do you wish to marry   
another of Mr. Tendou's...children?"  
  
Ranma-kun told her, "I don't want to marry anybody; I   
just want to go back to China!"  
  
Ranma's pop told him, "And complete what happened there!?   
You will first produce an heir."  
  
His arms crossed and looking away, Kaneda commented, "You   
could still produce an heir."  
  
Ranma-kun threatened, "How would you like to produce an   
heir!?"  
  
Kaneda's face said he didn't.  
  
The old priestess asked, "Juusenkyo?"   
  
Ranma-kun paled, "You, you know about Juusenkyo!?!"  
  
The old priestess said, "Oh, this IS a problem." She said   
to her husband, "Mr. Priest, while I consult with this   
young woman, you prepare for the Contest of the Corset."  
  
The old man cackled, "Corset! Corset! The Contest of the   
Corset!!"  
  
Ranma-kun cried, "I ain't puttin' on no corset!!"  
  
Kaneda cried with equal force, "Me neither!!"  
  
The old priest told them, "You don't WEAR the corset!"   
And used his blowgun on Ranma-kun again.  
  
Ranma-kun cried, "Hey! Why'd you only hit me!?!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
While everybody but Kasumi's father was distracted by   
Ranma yelling at the old priest, and the old man pelting   
the boy with pebbles, the old priestess led Kasumi away.   
She led her into the room-sized house.  
  
The sliding wooden door was kept open only by Kasumi's   
body; she was a little fearful of the darkness beyond. But   
she put her trust in her understanding of Zen. As the old   
priestess lit an ancient oil lamp, she said, "In here is the   
reason why the temple was built. Because of its terrible   
power, it is kept secret and apart from the main hall."  
  
As the light from the lamp revealed its shadowy form,   
Kasumi said, "Oh, my!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Genma Saotome cried, "OW!" as he slapped the back of his   
neck. He turned away from the door that had closed behind   
the two women. He scowled at the old man with the   
blowgun.  
  
The old priest cried, "You are not allowed in!! A curse   
upon any who go in without the blessing of the goddess!"  
  
Genma said, "I was just..." He fell to his knees, and   
then to the ground. He was quickly snoring.  
  
Ranma-kun cried, "Why you--Use a drugged dart on MY Old   
Man!!" He lunged--And got beaned with a pebble in the   
forehead hard enough to stop.  
  
Kaneda commented, "He certainly has a lot of breath for   
an old man."  
  
The old priest said, "It's the power of LOVE!" Then he   
cackled, "...And a LOT of exercise."  
  
Kaneda said, "I think I'm going to be sick."  
  
His dad felt just a LITTLE queasy, "It's all a matter of   
perspective, I guess."  
  
The old priest directed Ranma with his bamboo blowgun,   
"You: One square over, there." Then to Kaneda, "And you,   
over on that flagstone!"  
  
Kaneda said, "And if I refuse?"  
  
Kaneda got a pebble bounced off HIS head.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Inside the building, Kasumi said, "It's a well." The pit   
was hidden behind a waist-high, moldy, solid wooden   
fence.   
  
Carrying the lamp ahead of her, the old priestess walked   
toward it, "Are you aware of the story of the goddess   
Benten and the orochi?"  
  
Being polite, Kasumi followed the old woman. "Oh, my! I   
probably do, but I can't remember which is her story. It   
seems so many stories about water gods involve dragons,   
...or serpents."  
  
The old woman nodded, "That is true. For THEY are at the   
heart of waters of magic, like Juusenkyo, and   
Ryugenzawa."  
  
Kasumi asked in wonder, "...and this well?"  
  
The old woman looked down into the pit, "Here sleeps one   
of children of Benten and that fresh water dragon."  
  
Kasumi said, "Oh, my, he must still be a small child. It   
doesn't look wide enough to let an adult dragon rest   
comfortably."   
  
The old woman smiled. She turned the lamp towards Kasumi,   
"Do you wish to know you why I have told you all of   
this?"  
  
Kasumi said, "Only if you wish to tell me, Mrs.   
Priestess."   
  
The old priestess nodded, satisfied with the answer, "I   
believe you are somebody who CAN be blessed by the   
goddess!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
In position on his flagstone, another pebble struck   
Ranma-kun's head, "Ow! I just wanted to know WHAT the   
idea of this stupid game is!?!!"  
  
The old man had brought a teapot and two cups from the   
temple's porch. He was now kneeling between Ranma-kun and   
Kaneda. Putting down the blowgun, he started pouring hot   
water from his ancient teapot into two teacups, "You   
know about the Japanese tea ceremony?"  
  
Ranma-kun still resentful, said, "Yeah!"  
  
The old man said, "This isn't anything like that!" and   
splashed the water from the cups on both Ranma and   
Kaneda.  
  
Kane-chan cried, "What did you do that for!!?!" She was   
wearing a mid-length white dress with a few bows and   
ruffles.   
  
The same water that was hot enough to make Kaneda change   
was cool enough to change Ranma.  
  
Ranma-chan threatened, "I'll break THAT bamboo peashooter   
of yours, too!" He had broken it on his way to the   
square.  
  
Getting up with his tea set, the old priest said, "I have   
plenty more where they came from."  
  
Soun Tendou stood on the sidelines. His eyes were now   
wide open. Or not: "A, Akane?... How did she get here?"  
  
The old priest handed the man the tea things to hold;   
"She is here to partake in an engagement ceremony."  
  
Ranma-chan yelled, "I don't want to get engaged!"  
  
The old priest said, "Then you had better win the   
contest. The winner will prove to the goddess of reason   
and inspiration WHO she should favor. With those   
abilities, the winner can tie the loser to him as closely   
as the sides of a corset."  
  
Soun Tendou told the old priest, "But Akane is going to   
be part of the TENDOU family!"  
  
The old priest said, "She still may be: If she loses." He   
held up his blowgun, ready to bring it down as a signal,   
"May the goddess of the seven lucky gods show the better   
man the winning card!" And the contest began!  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kasumi didn't blink, "Me?? Blessed by the gods?"  
  
The old priestess returned their gaze on the still water   
of the magic well, "Each of the dragons have a different   
magic. The waters of Juusenkyo have transformation magic.   
The waters of Ryugenzawa have curative magic." She lifted   
her lamp, "Here we have the magic of ability!"  
  
Kasumi thought she understood, "As in the "nine   
abilities"."  
  
The priestess smiled, pleased, "You do understand."  
  
Kasumi asked, "Are you going to push me in the well?"  
  
The old woman asked, "Do you wish to be pushed in the   
well?"  
  
Kasumi said, "No. But Ranma's father pushed him in a   
spring at Juusenkyo."  
  
The old priestess nodded, "Ah, yes! It is always better   
that the magic be placed on a person accidentally." She   
shook her head sadly, "Far better. If a person   
intentionally tries to claim the magic of a dragon, then   
he becomes TWICE cursed!"  
  
Kasumi asked, "Oh, my, twice cursed?"  
  
Looking as if she had bourn a great burden all of her   
life, she said, "...They become a curse to others, as   
well."  
  
But she brought her lamp up to illuminate Kasumi's face,   
"But if it is done by somebody pure of heart, then the   
curse becomes a blessing."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kane-chan stood on his flagstone, waiting for Ranma-chan   
to make her move. Ranma-chan waited for Kane-chan to make   
HERS.  
  
The old priest cackled, "Step on the wrong square, and   
you lose!"  
  
Kane-chan's eyes darted over the worn flagstones, trying   
to see something...the tiniest mark...anything that made   
even ONE different. All she saw was erosion. She began to   
sweat.  
  
Ranma-chan had her own ideas how to win, "Ha! I don't   
HAVE to step on any! I know the Saotome Mid-air   
techniques: I can jump onto the porch of the temple!"  
  
The old priest laughed, "Go ahead! But you'd LOSE. The   
idea is to step on the CORRECT squares!"  
  
Kane-chan almost tore at her long black hair, What ARE   
the correct squares!?!! I can't figure this out!!! Being   
distracted by this STUPID dress and bra doesn't help!!  
  
Not allowed to "cut the Gordian Knot", Ranma-chan was   
having even more of a problem coming up with an idea:   
"Aaar!! I'm starting to get a head-ache!!"  
  
But, then suddenly, Ranma-chan cried, "You know about   
Juusenkyo: You know about magic!" She looked around the   
flagstones, surveying them. "AND you have traps hidden   
under the stones." She brought up her hands into martial   
arts position, "All of that means danger! I just have to   
use my trained senses."  
  
Kane-chan felt her very last slim chance at victory   
pulling away from her. My martial arts senses are no   
match for RANMA'S!!  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kasumi sighed, "Oh, my! I am sorry Mrs. Priestess, but I   
am not ready to receive a blessing."  
  
The priestess said, "What!?! You do not WISH to be   
blessed by the goddess?"  
  
Kasumi said, "If I did, I would not have a," she blushed   
at even having to consider it, "...a pure heart."  
  
The old woman sighed herself, and nodded regretfully,   
"That is the problem with a pure heart." But she stepped   
forward, and demanded, "But when you ARE ready to receive   
a blessing!?!! You will come HERE!!?! It has been so   
terribly long since anybody has been blessed by this   
accursed place!!"  
  
Kasumi felt sorry for the poor old woman. "Of course,   
Mrs. Ryoushin. When there is an honest need for me to be   
blessed, I shall make it a point to come back here."  
  
With her free hand the old woman grasped one of Kasumi's.   
"Thank you! Thank you, so much, my child!"  
  
Kasumi said, "But right now, I must think of my family   
and guests"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Now Ranma-chan was sweating heavily. She was using all of   
the techniques she had learned over her relentless years   
of training to sense something, ANYTHING beneath the   
flagstones.  
  
Kane-chan had to ask herself, What!!?! Ranma can't   
detect the dangers!?!! If she can't, then I--  
  
First came the inspiration: There ARE no dangers!!   
  
Kane-chan looked at the simple stones in a new way:   
Benten is the goddess of reason! You have to THINK to   
win this contest!! She said, "But think WHAT!?!  
  
"Clues! You use the clues to think with!"  
  
Then came the reasoning: "Contest of the Corset"...   
"goddess of the seven lucky gods"... "show the better man   
the winning card"... Her brain began to hurt. What is   
the idea of CARDS doing in a Shinto ritual!?!! They were   
introduced by the Portuguese!! What kind of temple would   
have a contest built around--  
  
Kane-chan saw the light!! "Corsets aren't Japanese,   
EITHER!!" She found the pattern in the flagstones!! It was   
a magic square, 25 by 25 flagstones--With Ranma in the   
middle! She looked around herself: Yes!! From where   
Ranma's standing, I'M in the middle of a magic square,   
too!!  
  
Kane-chan cried, "That's it!!" and, lifting her skirt,   
leaped! It was a jump Ranma could've easily made. But   
Kane-chan did it on wings of the goddess: Divine   
inspiration and love. She jumped diagonally to the   
flagstone on Ranma's right-front. There was another flagstone   
between them, and Kane-chan was JUST out of Ranma-chan's   
short reach.   
  
Ranma-chan cried, "Ah, ha! That square is safe!"  
  
Kane-chan almost laughed for joy, "For me!! YOU have to   
find your OWN squares!!" And she leaped diagonally again,   
to the square at Ranma-chan's right side. All Ranma-  
chan could do was stay on her flagstone and turn to   
follow Kane-chan, hoping to learn what the secret was   
before it was too late for her.  
  
Kane-chan knew the secret: The winning card is the Seven   
of Hearts! Ranma is the central heart, and three hearts on   
each side! Think of the six hearts as the holes of a   
CORSET--"And all I have to do is lace the sides of the   
corset together!!"   
  
Feeling utterly frustrated, Ranma-chan challenged that   
stupid logic, "Yeah!!?! And what are you tying the corset   
WITH!?!!"  
  
Kane-chan did laugh as she jumped towards the last square   
before pulling the corset closed, trapping Ranma inside,   
"The RED STRING!!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
The lamp had been set the rail of one of the well's   
fences. With a small pair of scissors, the old priestess   
cut the red string loop of Kaneda's omamori.   
  
Kasumi looked on, concerned, "You say that this is   
actually a piece of Kaneda's red string?" Folklore said   
that it connected people destined to fall in love since   
before they were born.  
  
The old woman nodded, "Yes. The loop directed your, uh,   
'brother' to herself, and her to him. Until the matter of   
sex was decided, all that the red string could do was   
find a true match in life, be they friend or foe."   
  
She handed the string to Kasumi, "But this relationship   
will not be decided by sex."   
  
Kasumi accepted it; "You mean the one with Ranma?"  
  
The old woman shrugged, "Perhaps. Cut off little pieces   
and sew them into their clothes. You don't have to worry   
about running out of enough string. This is its just the   
physical manifestation. There will always be more. And   
the real connection will remain unbroken."  
  
Kasumi nodded, accepting the magic object. But she asked   
in a concerned voice, "But what if Ranma isn't the one,   
uh, Kane-chan should marry?"  
  
The old priestess said, "Then the red string between the   
two will get tangled with the real love on the other end   
of the their red strings, and draw them those loves in."   
  
Kasumi nodded, thinking she understood. "And this   
contest? The, uh...."  
  
The old woman smiled, " "The Contest of the Corset"?   
There is no magic to it. It is just to give themselves a   
reason to believe." She warned Kasumi, "You must not let   
them find out that the real magic is in this red string."  
  
Kasumi said, "Oh, my, of course not. That could spoil   
everything, couldn't it?"  
  
With a look of admiration, the old priestess said,   
"Perhaps you are already blessed. You certainly seem   
capable."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Meanwhile, it was almost time for Nabiki's 'date'.   
  
Little did Tatewaki Kuno know that the girls he truly   
wished to be with were at one of his family's private   
temples. Would he ever find a girl CAPABLE enough to   
remove his curse?  
  
  
The End of this chapter  
[Notice: fiddle with a chapter up to a week after I post   
it. Anytime major changes are made, I   
will let the reader know in another chapter.] 


	10. 10: A Doll For Two

Ranma & Kaneda  
By Ron Dow75  
  
10: A Doll For Two   
  
[Note: Scenes where the focus is on Nabiki or Kuno are   
marked with a dollar sign ($). Scenes where the focus is   
on Kasumi are marked with a plus sign (+). Scenes about   
everybody else are marked with a pound sign (#).   
Summaries are after "The End".]   
  
  
Kane-chan leaped back onto the flagstone he'd started   
from. She turned around, and took up a triumphant stance   
in her white dress with the bows and frills. Only mildly   
breathing hard, the black-haired girl said to the red-  
haired girl, "Are you ready to be trapped inside the   
corset?!"  
  
Ranma-chan cried, "No!! There ain't no corset!! It's all   
in the sick old priest's sick mind and yours!!"  
  
Kane-chan confidently smiled, "We'll see how long you   
believe THAT!" And she pulled the red string she imagined   
in her hand.  
  
Ranma-chan leaped before the snare could be closed:   
"Ha!!"  
  
Pebbles from the Shinto priest's blowgun rapidly struck   
Ranma-chan's lumbar vertebrae. "Hey!!" The impact   
affected her balance.  
  
Ranma-chan fell back onto the temple's stone courtyard,   
"Ouf!"   
  
Kane-chan cried, "Yes: I have bound you!!"  
  
(Her father cried, "Oh, Akane!" He tried to cover his   
eyes. But the tea set he was holding got in the way.)  
  
Ranma-chan cried back, "No you did--" As she was shoving   
herself off the ground, she felt tightness around her   
waist. "What gives!!?!" she put a hand on the area, "I   
KNOW I didn't pulled a muscle." ...Make that muscles.   
Sitting up, she brought her other hand up, too, "Why do   
this stupid narrow waist feel even narrower!?!"  
  
Kane-chan walked toward her, "Because that's what corsets   
do: They constrict the waist area."  
  
Ryoushin, the old priest, cackled, "Corsets emphasize the   
woman's figure!! They are FOURTH after brassieres,   
bustles and high heels in importance in shaping a woman!"  
  
Ranma-chan stammered, " "Sh, sha, shaping"!?!! As in   
makin' you more of a woman!!?!"  
  
The old priest said as an enthusiastic student of love,   
"But MORE than the others, its hourglass figure announces   
to the world the woman is not pregnant!"  
  
Ranma-chan turned white, "Pre, gnant!?...."  
  
(Kasumi cried, "Oh, My!!"  
  
(She and the old priestess had just come out of the   
building that hid the accursed well. The old priestess   
quietly told Kasumi, "Do not worry. The corset shiatsu   
will wear off soon." Then she frowned towards her   
husband, "Unless the old fool forgot that it was not   
meant to be permanent.")  
  
Kane-chan had reached Ranma-chan, "The priest said NOT   
pregnant. ...As in "yet"." I can't believe I said that.  
  
Ranma-chan glared up at her as she got up on her own,   
"Oh, THAT makes me feel better!" Straightening out, she   
put a hand to her diaphragm, "If I wasn't trained to   
breathe outward from the sides, this could interfere with   
my skills."  
  
Kane-chan said, "That's good. I want you to know I don't   
want your martial arts abilities compromised. They mean   
too much to you."  
  
The old priest joined them, "Very eloquent. Benten is the   
goddess of eloquence, you know."  
  
Ranma turned her glare to him, "What ISN'T she a goddess   
of!?"  
  
The old priestess clapped her hands, "It is time to   
LEAVE! The water vapor of this place is beginning to   
affect you. Too much time here and you will talk in fine   
words empty of inspiration and reason!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
$  
Meanwhile, Tatewaki Kuno, heir to an ancient samurai   
legacy and the fortune their ways brought, sat in a   
humble eatery. He gazed not at the gaggling geese of   
ordinary girls around him, but at what he held in his   
hands. She was a blue eyed, blond dolly in a frilly white   
apron, pink dress and two hair ribbons. "Yea, you art the   
very image of my dearest ones! Or, rather, the image they   
would have, had they been allowed to express their true,   
and full femininity. But, nay: The vile, and disreputable   
Tendou clan get their evil power from stealing   
reputations!" His voice rose higher with his passion,   
"But this pure heart will win your freedoms, so that you   
may be adoring ladies of my court!!"  
  
He had stood to hold the doll aloft in one hand.   
  
A voice that could have been that of the doll's said,   
"What an idiot."  
  
He hadn't noticed that all other conversations had   
stopped.   
  
Another voice answered, "I'll say! Where does he get his   
stupid ideas!?"  
  
A third said, "He's probably been 'INSPIRED' by an O.D.   
of samurai tales."  
  
A fourth said, "More like heroic boys' mangas and   
animes."  
  
A fifth laughed, "He thinks he has the "eternal fighting   
samurai spirit alive within"!"  
  
A sixth joined her, "Just like my EIGHT-year-old   
brother!"  
  
A seventh grinned, "What is it your little brother says?   
"What is a hero without implacable enemies to temper your   
manhood against"." More girlish laughter followed.   
  
Since the restaurant was full of girls, and not a boy in   
sight to take retribution on, Kuno seated himself again.   
He was enough of an aristocrat not to blush in front of   
the hoi polloi of the opposite sex.  
  
Though he almost lost that resolve with: "Do you think   
that's the ONLY doll he has?"  
  
"*Giggle* As in "anatomically correct"?"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
#  
Ranma-chan quoted, " "Talk in fine words empty of   
inspiration or reason"?" And he walked to where her pop   
was snoring, "Then I'd BETTER get Pop outta here: He   
doesn't need to be any more like that!"   
  
Ranma-chan reached down and hefted the overweight man   
onto a shoulder. It wasn't a spectacular show of   
strength; her back was bent under the burden, but she did   
it.  
  
Still, Kane-chan was impressed; "You can do that in a   
corset?"  
  
Ranma-chan didn't like that thought. "I can think of it   
as a straw back brace, like many men of Japan wear!"   
Again with the "Urusei Yatsura" reference: That's what   
Ryuunosuke's psychotically manly father was always   
wearing.  
  
Kane-chan thought, Stubborn! That's also supposed to be   
for virility.  
  
The old priestess hurried to usher everybody out, "This   
temple WILL give the unfortunate nine abilities."   
  
Kasumi asked, "Oh, my, you mean..."  
  
Mrs. Priestess nodded towards her, "Yes. The curse is to   
have the ability, but not the CAPABILITY. For the talents   
to mean anything, there has to be the blessing of the   
goddess of reason and inspiration."  
  
Kasumi said, "Oh, my, how tragic."  
  
Soun Tendou joined the others after putting the tea set   
on the temple porch. "Akane, may I speak with you, now?"  
  
Ranma-chan had reached the corner of the main hall still   
carrying her pop. "Go ahead and talk with him, 'Akane'!   
'Cause I ain't gonna be engaged to you, contest or no   
contest!"  
  
Genma Saotome stirred, "Contest!? What contest!?!"  
  
(Kane-chan saw another blowgun dart in Saotome's neck.   
The antidote! She scowled, That old priest has perfect   
timing.)  
  
Before Soun could inform his friend, the old priest broke   
in, "The dark-haired girl has won the right to red-haired   
girl's hand!"  
  
Genma pushed himself up off of Ranma-chan, "What!!?!"  
  
Ranma-chan dropped him. She stood over him, "I did NOT   
lose!! Ranma Saotome doesn't lose!!"  
  
Kane-chan told Ranma-chan (and her father), "At martial   
arts: But this wasn't martial arts! It was a test to see   
which one of us DESERVED to be blessed by the goddess. I   
won!"  
  
Genma was still confused. Soun told him, "It seems Akane   
has her cap set on your son. And she apparently doesn't   
care if he's a girl."  
  
Ranma-chan said, "What'd you mean "IF"!?!"  
  
Soun had a thought about his would-be daughter-in-law,   
"You don't suppose young Akane...has an unnatural   
preference?"  
  
Genma said, "To put it politely in your company."  
  
The old priest yelled, "Hail and Farewell Attack!!" A   
shower of pebbles began to rain down on all but Kasumi,   
behind him.   
  
The martial artists ran for the way out.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
$  
Nabiki entered the restaurant where her "date" with Kuno-  
baby was to begin. How appropriate they would meet at the   
place where they had broke up. The proprietress paused   
from her work to greet her, "Come in! Come in!"  
  
Nabiki looked around the crowded little place. She got   
the satisfaction of seeing Kuno waiting. He was hiding in   
a far corner with his back to everybody else.   
  
When Kuno turned, Nabiki saw to her disappointment it   
wasn't because he had sensed her presence. He looked   
unusually quiet and pensive for him. Was he looking   
towards some laughing girls?   
  
Well, Kuno-baby had chosen this place to meet. The idiot   
SHOULD be ashamed to be seen there. As she remembered it,   
she had made quite a scene that last time they were here.  
  
But would that have really penetrated that thick head of   
his?   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
#  
The Saotomes were out the gate before everybody else.   
  
Kane-chan was pulling on her dad's arm, when he stopped   
her. He cried, "Kasumi! Where is Kasumi!?!!"  
+  
Kasumi called from within the temple walls, "Right here,   
Father!"  
  
The old priestess said, "She'll be with you presently.   
SHE will be one blessed by the goddess."  
  
Before her father could say anything, Kasumi said, "No,   
Mrs. Priestess. Oh, my, no. I am not ready to have my   
life changed."  
  
The old woman told her, "But I still have things to tell   
you!"  
  
Kasumi said, "Then you can tell me as we go down this   
long stairway." She called to the others: "Go ahead! I'll   
meet you all at the bottom!"  
#  
Kane-chan pulled harder on her dad, "Come on, you heard   
her." He looked down at Ranma-chan. The pig-tailed girl   
had stopped because her father had to catch his breath.   
As Kane-chan watched Ranma-chan yell at her father, she   
thought, I have to get down there before Saotome does   
get his wind back! He's going to try and take back   
whatever control I won over Ranma!  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
$  
Nabiki brought the tray with her meal over to the table   
Kuno-baby was sitting at. He was waiting impatiently but   
nobly. It was tempting to make him stew a little longer.  
  
But she sat down, and uncovered her bowl. She said in a   
tone that told him she hadn't forgiven him yet, "What's   
this all about? It's not like you to treat a girl to   
snacks." She broke her chopsticks apart as emphasis.   
  
Kuno said, "I have a favor to ask. Keep it in mind that a   
man in my position is not accustomed to asking for   
favors. I would take it ill indeed if you were to take me   
lightly, Nabiki Tendou."  
  
Nabiki had been trying to enjoy her dumplings in sweet   
red bean soup. She said to the jerk, "Yeah, yeah, yeah.   
So spill it already. Now, what can I do for you, Kuno."  
  
Kuno said, "Well, I shall swallow my pride." It took him   
a second to do that. "It's this," and held up the   
collectable.   
  
Nabiki looked. "What is "this"?"  
  
Kuno told her, "It's a cute, little dolly."  
  
Nabiki told him, "I know THAT. But what is it for?"  
  
Kuno told her, "It is a present."  
  
Nabiki waved it off, "No, thanks." Now that she had a   
good look at it, it was too cheap to be a collectable.   
She went back to her meal.  
  
Kuno told her, "I never said it was for you, Nabiki. It   
is a token of my affection for Ranma Saotome, the Pig-  
tailed girl."  
  
Nabiki stopped her eating. She had been playing the   
"former girlfriend" and had forgotten why she was there.   
The thought of That's, for, FOR RANMA! was too much: It   
was to laugh.  
  
Nabiki did laugh, and though she tried to keep it in the   
food in her mouth got out. "Ha! Ha! Ha! Ah, Ha! Ha! Ha!"   
  
She stifled it as soon as she could. She placed her face   
back on with a threat-like, "Now look at what you made me   
do, Kuno."  
  
His own face covered with her half-chewed food, Kuno   
returned with controlled anger, "So sweet and voluble   
your discourse."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
#  
Kane-chan ran down the stairs ahead of her dad. "Ranma!   
You're wearing the corset, that makes YOU the girl!"  
  
Genma Saotome yelled, "What!!?!"  
  
Soun Tendou said, "Well, something did happen to Ranma."  
  
Ranma-chan screamed, "Just 'cause somebody FORCES me into   
something doesn't make me "the girl"!!"  
  
Kane-chan stopped out of Saotome's swing; "That somebody   
was the goddess!"  
  
Soun Tendou said, "Well, we WERE at the goddess's   
temple."  
  
Genma Saotome studied his child, "ARE you wearing a   
corset, boy!?!"  
  
Ranma-chan cried, "It's invisible!!" feeling it. Then she   
screamed directly at Kane-chan, " And if we're talkin'   
about goddesses, what about YOU!!?! YOU'RE the one   
wearin' the stupid dress with the ribbons everybody can   
see!"  
  
Genma Saotome nodded towards the girl who clearly looked   
like a girl, "That's right."  
  
Soun Tendou nodded as well, "Indeed."  
  
Kane-chan cried, "It's Kasumi's idea!!"  
  
Ranma-chan crossed her arms under her chest, "And the old   
priestess thinks the goddess likes the way Kasumi   
thinks."   
  
Kane-chan screamed, "Just because somebody forces me into   
wearing something I don't want doesn't make me a girl!"  
  
Soun Tendou said, "Dear me, Akane does have a problem,   
doesn't she?"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
$  
Nabiki looked across the table at the guy who thought he   
was the living embodiment of the samurai spirit and his   
cute, little dolly. He was wiping the food particles off   
of his face. "You must really have a thing for Ranma, eh,   
Kuno?"  
  
Nabiki did a quick calculation in her head. "I just   
happen to have some photos."  
  
Kuno cried, "Photos!?"  
  
Nabiki teased, "Want to see them?"  
  
Kuno's eyes shifted as he tried to do his own   
calculations. "Hmph!" He and he tossed his head back,   
trying to look nonchalant about the matter. "Well, I..."  
  
Nabiki interrupted the act, "Tell you what. Buy me some   
spaghetti, and I MIGHT let you see them."  
  
Kuno's fist hit the table, "This is torture!"  
  
Nabiki made ready to "break off" the transaction, "Hey!   
If you don't want to see them."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
#  
Kane-chan told them all, "All *I* have to do is find some   
cool water, and *I* won't be a girl!" And he leaped down   
the stairs.   
  
Kane-chan went past the surprised elder Saotome and for   
Ranma-chan. Ranma reflexively "saved" the girl. In Ranma-  
chan's arms, Kane-chan used her Vine-Clinging-on-a-Statue   
technique to glomp on.   
  
Ranma-chan cried, "What'd you do that for!!?!"  
  
Kane-chan "This is a more interesting way to find water.   
You'll help me, won't you, Ranma?" Wide-eye flutter.   
  
Genma Saotome told Ranma to, "Hold her, son! I'll knock   
her off!" He reared up his had to do just that.  
  
Her arms trapped, Ranma-chan ran down the stairs: "Geez,   
Pop! Whatever happened to "not hittin' girls"!?!"  
  
Genma answered, "But she's--"  
  
Suddenly, close behind him: "GEN-MA!!"  
  
Genma turned and saw a giant demon's head at his   
shoulder. Demon Head Soun Tendou cried, "How DARE you   
threaten to strike Akane, the very image of my dear   
wife!!"  
  
His fingers and hands up in a Takahashi, Genma grinned   
nervously, "Can't we talk this out? (Heh, heh)"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
+  
Nearer the top of the stairs, Kasumi cried, "Oh, my! How   
rude of Father to become a demon on temple grounds.   
Forgive him, Mrs. Priestess."  
  
The old priestess said, "I sense no demon, so no offense   
is taken. But allow me to continue...The corset shiatsu   
is just to plant the idea within young Ranma that your,   
uh, sibling won the favor of the goddess. But humans are   
not logical. If Ranma continues to feel the corset, she   
will chafe under it and seek to free herself."  
  
Kasumi said, "Oh, I see! That is why the corset will come   
off soon."  
  
The old priestess said, "Yes. Ranma will have nothing to   
PHYSICALLY rebel against. THAT combined with the tether   
of the red string will bind her far more securely."  
  
Kasumi asked, "Oh, my, then, Ranma will be the girl?"  
  
The old woman said, "Only if she passes the tests."  
  
Kasumi asked, "Tests?"  
  
The old woman said, "Both Ranma and Kaneda have can   
become female. It is their Karma. It now becomes a matter   
of which one is better suited to be the woman. In a word,   
ENDURE. Which one can endure what a woman goes through."   
  
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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
$  
Nabiki had taken Kuno next door in the "Shopping Plaza"   
to a Western-style restaurant that served spaghetti.   
  
Unlike sweet dumplings, pasta wasn't something she had   
had very often, "Mmm!"   
  
But she was there on business. With her mouth still full,   
she laid five photos face up on the table, "Here's the   
deal: One thousand yen per shot."  
  
When Kuno saw what was on them, he cried, "Whoh, hoa!"   
Akane Saotome was out in her yellow kempo-gi. She was   
working out in the arena in front of the dojo. Besides a   
sweaty, frowning profile, she was high-kicking, lifting   
dumbbells, hitting a punching bag, and demolishing some   
cinderblocks. "What strength! What power! I'll take   
them," he said taking a 5,000-yen note from the pocket   
inside his kendo-gi shirt where he kept his walking-  
around money.   
  
Picking the photos up, he admired them, She is truly a   
tigress among kittens. A truly capable girl. Then he   
thought to ask, "How did you obtain these objets d'arte   
martiale?"   
  
Nabiki was back to enjoying her spaghetti, "She is   
engaged to a Tendou. KEI Tendou."  
  
Kuno got excited in a way different from when he viewed   
the photos, "You KNOW how to get in touch with Akane   
Saotome!?!!"  
  
Nabiki smiled to herself; her plan was falling back into   
place, "5,000-yen more for "The Very Tragic Tale of Kei   
and Akane."  
  
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#  
Genma Saotome took off down the stairs yelling; Ranma-  
chan was close behind him; Kane-chan was still wrapped   
around Ranma's arms. Demon Head Soun Tendou was licking   
at their heels, giving them the evil eye.   
+  
Kasumi was barely aware of what was going on further down   
the long stairway. She said, "Oh, my! I seem to have   
given Akane the head start at being the girl."  
  
The waddling old woman assured her, "Though little girls   
may think differently, the race is not won by the   
swiftest. Each develops at their own pace. It is all a   
matter of growth spurts."  
  
Kasumi said, "Oh, my, I am confused. Akane and Ranma   
appear to be past their major growth spurts. Weren't we   
talking about something other than..." she became modest,   
"...physical development?"  
  
The old woman smiled, "Then think of it as a phase. They   
are currently in a...tomboy phase. Surely you have had a   
friend or two growing up like that who quite rapidly took   
to being a woman?"  
  
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$  
Kuno, of course, had to protest that "one as pure of   
heart as I does not stoop to entertain hearsay rumor."   
After making his expected speech, he gave Nabiki the   
5,000-yen. She almost added 1,000 as an added tax for   
having to pretend to listen to his speech.  
  
Meanwhile, Nabiki had ordered extra garlicky Italian   
bread with a raw onion on the side. She took a bite of   
the bread and then cut the onion, "It all started with   
the clan feud between the Fukuoka Tendous and Saotomes."   
She took another bite of the garlicky bread, waiting for   
him to react. He didn't. "Fukuoka is the province of the   
Main Island of Japan closest to the Okinawa Islands(?)."  
  
Kuno wrinkled his nose, "Okinawa: The Still of Japanese   
Martial Arts!! So that is how the two families came by   
their interest in the fowl practice that reeks of the   
peasant class." Then his mind wondered to another   
thought, "Do you think Fukuoka is where fuku/girls'   
sailor suits got started?"  
  
Nabiki rolled her eyes, and continued with her story,   
"The feud is SO ancient the elders of the clans finally   
realized that nobody could remember how it started. In an   
attempt to make peace, they agreed to as many arranged   
marriages between clan members as they could find   
candidates."  
  
Kuno's eyes began to water, "..."Arranged marriages"!   
They are the stuff that tragic legends are made from.   
Even the great English bard Shakespeare wrote of their   
comedic tragedy."  
  
Nabiki continued to cut the onion. That her own eyes were   
a bit moist helped her presentation. "That is the   
problem. The only potential couple available is Kei and   
Akane."  
  
Kuno wept for them, "But THEY love others, and not one   
another. How very archetypal!"  
  
Nabiki said, "Actually, they DO love each other. At least   
Akane loves Kei. But Kei refuses to be agree to anything   
until his birthright is recognized."  
  
Kuno could relate to birthrights; he said with passion,   
"The man is man enough there! And what is the heritage   
that has been ripped from his soul!?!"  
  
Nabiki set down her fork and knife and tried to look   
solemn. "Kei wishes to reclaim his clan name. You see Kei   
Tendou was born a Saotome."  
  
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#  
Demon Head Soun Tendou was too out of practice for Ranma-  
chan's speed; he was now meters behind her.   
  
Kane-chan yelled, "Why are you running from Dad!?!! Are   
you afraid of him??"  
  
Ranma-chan told her, "NO! I'm not afraid of a stupid   
projection technique!" But she may have protested too   
much. "I'm looking for some water so I can get you off of   
me!"  
  
Kane-chan smiled, "You don't think that'll make me even   
stronger?"   
  
Ranma-chan said back, "It'll also make you longer! But   
I'm bettin' girls cling better 'n guys! It's the way   
they're built!"  
  
Kane-chan wondered if she wasn't right. KANEDA-KUN had   
never done the Cling on anybody.   
  
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$  
Still at the Italian food franchise, Kuno repeated, "Kei   
Tendou wishes to be recognized as a Saotome??" He coughed   
briefly on the fumes he'd sucked in.   
  
Nabiki thought, There! Let "Kei Tendou" say he's really   
a Saotome: A lot of good that ought to do him.  
  
Kuno was confused. That was nothing new for him, but this   
time he allowed himself to show it. "If he is truly a Kei   
Saotome, how did he become a Tendou?"  
  
Nabiki came to what she thought was the most ingenious   
part of her story, "What is a feud of honor if there is   
nobody left to carry the tradition forward? Seeing that   
the head of the Tendou clan's direct line had no son, the   
head of the clan Saotome clan, out of a respect born of a   
lifetime of rivalry, allowed the adoption of Kei."  
  
She then made a show of feminine conflict by looking   
away. "...And Akane was given to the Saotomes in   
exchange." It was now time to make the story MORE   
believable; she looked straight at Kuno-baby, "Akane--  
Plus a prized relic that the Saotomes wanted." Simply   
exchanging a girl for a boy wasn't considered a fair   
trade by old-line traditionalists (including, she was   
sure, Kuno). It was the relic that would be considered   
the main part of the deal.  
  
Kuno thought he understood. "Then, then Akane Saotome is   
by blood Akane Tendou?" The plot was complicated but not   
convoluted. In fact it was the opposite of "Romeo and   
Juliet" in that the hero was not trying to DENY his   
family, but...As he was pondering this, he something else   
bubbled up from the depths of his mind, "WHAT prized   
relic?!"  
  
Nabiki knew Kuno collected antiques. And nothing was more   
tempting to him than a relic. This was yet another   
business opportunity. "They wouldn't tell me. It's too   
valuable to let anybody know what it is or where they hid   
it." How long it would be 'hidden' would depend on how   
much she could get the bidding up. And "mysterious" was   
always a draw.  
  
Nabiki said, "Akane knows as much about the relic as Kei.   
Would you consider giving the doll to her?"  
  
Kuno said, "But of course! I asked about conveying my   
gift to the Pig-tailed Ranma Saotome as my intercessor   
because I did not know how to reach Akane Saotome."   
Though, now that he thought of it, by the two girls   
having the same family name, there HAD been a chance one   
knew the other.  
  
Nabiki said, "I could. But I have a better person in   
mind."  
  
Kuno asked, rising from the booth's bench, "You know of a   
person whose word can reach my lady Akane's heart!?!"   
  
Nabiki smiled, "Ice cream, please!"  
  
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+  
Kasumi and the old priestess continued on their walk down   
the stairs. "Oh, my! So, you're advising I should   
encourage BOTH of them to explore their feminine side?"  
  
The old woman said, "Until such time as your heart tells   
you otherwise. I believe your heart is pure. It will know   
when the answer to this puzzle is reached. But until you   
are sure, my advice is, yes."  
  
Kasumi was still concerned, "Oh, my, what a   
responsibility. But couldn't I do more harm than good to   
the one who will not be the girl?"  
  
The waddling old woman asked, "How many wives wish their   
husbands had an understanding of what they must go   
through?" She turned away, her hands behind her back,   
"But if he is any kind of man, he will survive. If need   
be, there are certain methods that can make the   
distinctions black and white, on and off, male and   
female." She looked down at Ranma-chan leaping the last   
eight steps of the stairway with Kane-chan. "Perhaps the   
methods have already been employed." She became very   
serious, "THEN time as a woman would correct any   
misconceptions that have occurred."  
  
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#  
Ranma-chan reached the park-like swath of grass looking   
for water. She made her decision, "Water is downhill."  
  
Kane-chan commented, "With us, not necessarily."  
  
The Demon Head cried, "I caught you!!"  
  
Ranma-chan gave a reaction. Kane-chan, rather than test a   
girl's ability to stretch, let go. This caused her to be   
thrown up into the air.  
  
Kane-chan aimed for Mr. Demon Head.   
  
It disappeared and Soun Tendou cried, "I caught you" as   
he held her in his arms.   
  
Tired, he did drop to his knees, though. Kane-chan yelled   
at her dad, "Why did you do that for!? She was about to   
get me wet!"  
  
Soun Tendou wept, "Oh, lovely Akane! Tell me you do not   
entertain thoughts about women!"  
  
Kane-chan pushed herself free from him, "I'm telling you:   
The second to the last thing I want to be is a pervert-  
girl!"  
  
Soun Tendou's crying eased as he asked, "Then you ARE   
interested in men?"  
  
Kane-chan told him, "And that's the LAST thing I want to   
be!"  
  
Soun Tendou stopped crying altogether. He had to think;   
"What's left?"  
  
Kane-chan meanwhile noticed, "Ranma's getting away!"  
  
Soun watched her run after the leaping redhead. "She   
likes women who dress like men??"  
  
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$  
Nabiki was eating a two-scoop ice cream cone at another   
restaurant in the "Shopping Plaza". "To give a gift of   
your affection for Akane, you must first give it to Kei."  
  
Kuno cried, "What!!? But I have no affection for him!"  
  
Nabiki licked on her cone, and said, "Kei IS Akane's   
fiance. It would be more honorable to confront him with   
your intentions?"  
  
Kuno nodded, "Yes; confront!" and reached for his wooden   
sword...that he was uncharacteristically without.  
  
Nabiki coldly told him, "You won't have to confront him   
that way, Kuno." She explained to the moron, "Kei says he   
doesn't want to be engaged to Akane. He should give you   
his blessing. He will even HELP you win her."...until he   
finally understands he could lose her. Then, if he has   
any feelings for Kane-chan, they will finally be forced   
out in the open. And if Kei does reject her..."Akane will   
be so hurt and angry she'll GIVE you the relic as her   
dowry."  
  
Kuno said, "But of course! My gift would have more   
meaning if Kei Tendou were the agent of my love!! It then   
symbolizes betrayal. --And Akane would come to me on the   
rebound!!" And it will be out of love and respect that   
she shall do what all women must do for their man, and   
make that ultimate sacrifice!   
  
Nabiki was satisfied, "Then you will forget about Ranma?"   
And if Kei DOES reject Akane, (thanks to Part B of   
Nabiki's Master Plan) Ranma would have little choice but   
be Kaneda's ... and with Kuno out of the running.   
  
Kuno said, "Who says I have to forget her?"  
  
Nabiki bit into her cone, "Then you are going to two-time   
Akane?"  
  
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#  
Kane-chan followed Ranma-chan as best she could. It was   
hard to do when Ranma was taking the rooftop express and   
she was hoofing it. At least Kane-chan wasn't wearing   
anything with heels. (And a swishy skirt didn't hurt.)  
  
Then in a narrow ally Kane-chan found her way blocked.  
  
By Ranma's father: "Now that we are alone, it is time to   
have a discussion." He rubbed the spot on his head that   
Kaneda had hammered yesterday morning.  
  
Kane-chan eyed the man; so far the only threat came from   
the tone of his voice. She made no moves, but prepared   
herself for an attack. "There's nothing more to discuss   
until the marriage contract. If Ranma's going to marry   
any Tendou, it's going to be me."  
  
Saotome told her, "Is that so!? I'll have you know I   
raised Ranma to be a man among men. He'd rather commit   
seppuku than be less!"  
  
Kane-chan thought, This guy's a real jerk! He'd rather   
see a dead son, than a live daughter! "That sounds like   
a CHALLENGE: If you want me to prove how much of a man *I*   
am, I'm willing to risk suicide!"  
  
Saotome's eyes shifted around as if he tried to decide   
whether that was a good idea or not. Kane-chan then   
added, "But instead of Ranma, it'll be between YOU and   
me!"  
  
Saotome decided that having a suicide contest WAS a bad   
idea: "But this is between you and--"  
  
Splash!  
  
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+  
Kasumi and the old priestess had reached the bottom of   
the stairs and were preparing to make their good-byes.   
But Kasumi had a thought, "Oh, my! What if BOTH Kaneda   
and Ranma are unable to become the woman? What will   
happen to their relationship, then?"  
  
The old priestess told her, "There are two parts to the   
omamori you have in your purse. The first is the red   
string."  
  
Kasumi nodded, "I am to sew pieces of the red string into   
their clothing. That will keep them magically tied to   
each other."  
  
The old priestess said, "The second is the fabric   
rectangle the prayer is written on. It was originally   
created for Akane, but it can apply to Ranma, as well,   
when you pray over it. The only question is where to   
place it."  
  
Kasumi asked, "It doesn't go back under Kaneda's   
mattress?"  
  
The old priestess explained, "Goodness, no! It has to be   
some place that BOTH own, or nobody owns. And it has to   
have Yin."  
  
Kasumi didn't blink as she pondered, "Yin? As in the   
feminine principle?"  
  
The old priestess nodded solemnly, "We ARE encouraging   
them to be more feminine. As for what has Yin, how much   
do you know about Feng Shui?"  
  
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$  
Nabiki eyed Kuno's too cute, girl doll. Right now, the   
thing could go to both Akane and Ranma, or neither. If   
she didn't do something her plans for Ranma-chan were   
going to unravel. But with a plan as finely meshed as   
hers, snags along the way had to be expected.  
  
She had moved them to a coffee shop. Coffee was something   
else she normally didn't get at home. "Since "they are so   
dear to you, you cannot bear to part with them", I WILL   
offer you the photos I took of Ranma. 2,000-yen per   
shot."  
  
Kuno protested, "But it only cost 1,000 a photo of--"  
  
Nabiki spread the photos out on the bar in front of the   
shop's window.   
  
Kuno marveled at the five different shots of Ranma-chan   
undressed (and one where she WAS undressing!). "She's,   
so..." his greedy hands them up, "unashamed before the   
camera." They weren't a product of his fevered fantasies.  
  
Nabiki grinned, "Unashamed is a good word for her. You'd   
almost think she was a boy."  
  
Kuno, still staring lustfully at the photos, said, "This   
is proof that Ranma IS no boy!" Tears began to blur his   
vision, "ONLY an utter knave like Kaneda Tendou would   
deny that!"  
  
When Nabiki went to take the photos back, Kuno quickly   
gave her the 10,000-yen.  
  
Nabiki said, "Ignoring the fact that you just insulted my   
brother, I can tell you what to give Ranma. That doll   
will NOT make the cut with her, Kuno."  
  
Kuno looked at the doll, "But I wished to use it to   
release the femininity that has been so cruelly locked   
away in her."  
  
Nabiki gave him a broad, calculating smile, "You need to   
be more direct with Ranma. When it comes to things   
feminine, you have to hit Ranma over the head with the   
metaphorical two-by-four." She tried to keep her face   
from looking too cleaver, "Ranma has no wardrobe. If she   
is to start being feminine, she has to start LOOKING   
feminine."  
  
Kuno looked at the doll's old-fashioned long pink dress   
with the frilly apron. "A lady DOES need a complete   
assortment of attire for all occasions. Organdy dresses,   
satin gowns, silken peignoirs..."  
  
Nabiki suggested, "Take a look at those photos, again.   
Surely you'd prefer to see Ranma in more, revealing   
things?"  
  
Kuno said, "As with the photos, a lady's modesty is best   
assaulted away from the public eye. For somebody as pure   
of heart as I, it is unthinkable expose a lady to the   
lascivious leers of the rabble."  
  
Nabiki said, "Ranma is no lady. And neither are most   
girls, today."  
  
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#  
The panda growled in frustration!  
  
Ranma-chan dropped down from the roof of one of the   
buildings that lined the narrow ally. She landed between   
the animal and Kane-chan.   
  
Tossing away the pail of water she'd found, she yelled at   
the beast, "Since when do you try and fight my battles   
for me, Old Man! Stay out of this, or I'll be your   
kaishaku myself! Because I KNOW you'd chicken out killing   
yourself!"  
  
Kane-chan asked, "What about me? Do you think *I* have the   
guts!?!"  
  
Ranma-chan looked over her shoulder, and snorted, "Hmmph!   
Girls do seppuku in the neck, not the stomach, stupid."   
She had definite ideas about what should remain purely   
adult male.   
  
Kane-chan cried, "I'd do the full seppuku ritual if it   
would SHOW you I AM a man!"  
  
Ranma-chan looked and walked away, "A real man'd only   
commit suicide for honor."  
  
Kane-chan stomped her foot forward, demanding, "Promise   
me you'll be my kaishaku!"  
  
Ranma-chan said, "Why!? You plan on showing your honor by   
NOT going through with it?"  
  
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$  
Nabiki said, "Oh, one final thing, Kuno. The clans of   
Fukuoka take the traditional ways seriously. If you're   
going to give anything to one of their females, you're   
going to have to first run it by her male kin."  
  
Kuno nodded; he could understand about keeping up the   
appearance of propriety. He WAS raised to have a pure   
heart. "I will show my gift to Ranma Saotome to her   
father."  
  
Nabiki sounded scornful, "What are you thinking, Kuno?   
You're about to declare your intentions for a man's   
woman. You're THEN going to do the same for yet another   
man's fiancee. To the father who ARRANGED her   
engagement."  
  
His eyes opened, Kuno said, "I see.... Two-timing CAN   
complicate matters of the heart."  
  
Nabiki told him, "What you need is an advocate within   
their ranks."  
  
Kuno asked, "And that would be?..." Then he got it:   
"Another Saotome!"  
  
Nabiki's smile was almost a gloat, "Right: Kei is really   
a Saotome." Kuno kept coming back for more from Kaneda,   
but even HE isn't masochist enough to date Ranma after   
"Kei" gets through with him. And Kaneda.   
  
Nabiki, for all her cunning, did not know about the Kuno   
curse.  
  
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+  
After Kasumi had said sayonara and was walking away, the   
old priestess called out, "Do not worry if things do not   
look as if they are not going as planned! The goddess of   
reason knows reason is not the way of humans."   
  
  
The End of this chapter  
[Summary of Kasumi's part: Ranma doesn't know about the   
magic red string, so she thinks it's the invisible corset   
that binds her to Kaneda. What she doesn't know (or feel)   
she can't break. Dissonance will also sabotage her   
efforts to free herself. BUT the rectangle with the   
written pray when placed in the doll will give either   
Ranma OR Kaneda an equal chance at being the girl. One   
WILL pass the tests.]  
  
[Summary of Nabiki's part: Kei and Akane were exchanged   
at birth. Kei would rather be a Saotome. Kei thinks he   
wants to get rid of Akane. But Kuno not only wants Kei's   
help to get Akane, but Ranma.]  
  
[Summary of the Two Fathers: Soun thinks Akane likes   
butch girls. Genma thinks Kaneda will challenge him to a   
suicide contest if he makes too much trouble.] 


	11. 11: Go Ahead, Try to Take Her

Ranma & Kaneda  
By Ron Dow75  
  
11: Go Ahead, Try to Take Her  
  
  
Ranma-chan grabbed a fist full of fur on the panda's   
back, "C'mon! We're gonna have a long talk, and YOU ain't   
gonna say a word!"  
  
Angry, Kane-chan had pulled out a mallet; "Promise me   
you'll kill me!!" But Ranma continued to ignore her as   
she drug the panda out of the narrow alley between the   
windowless buildings.  
  
As Ranma-chan disappeared around the corner, Kane-chan   
yelled, "I won't let you ignore me!!" She lifted her   
mallet, and began to run--  
  
Her dad cried, "Akane!!?"  
  
'Akane' cringed. Reflexively, she stopped and lowered her   
"equalizer".  
  
Soun Tendou asked, "What do you mean by asking Ranma to   
kill you?!" He had just entered the other end of the   
alley.  
  
Kane-chan hid the mallet out of sight; "Er, in case I,   
uh, do seppuku. As a test of honor."  
  
Soun Tendou shook his head sadly, "Seppuku is not a   
"test"." He sighed, "Akane, have your unnatural   
inclinations lead you to contemplate--"  
  
Kane-chan cried, "No!! It's not like that!" as she waved   
her empty hands about. So much about leaving Dad behind   
to follow Ranma. "It's just that I want Ranma to think   
of me, differently." She drew in her breath and risked   
her dad hearing her say, "Like a real man."  
  
Soun Tendou came to her like a concerned parent, "Akane,   
don't throw your womanliness away! Ranma is not who you   
think she is."  
  
Kane-chan told him, "I know." For a moment she thought he   
was going to put an arm around her; "But I KNOW Ranma can   
be womanly! We just have to find out what it takes to   
overcome her male-conditioning."  
  
Before Soun could correct the beautiful stranger, they   
heard Kasumi call, "That's right! Ranma can, and must,   
try being a girl!" She wasn't in the alley, but the   
sounds had echoed out to where Oneesan could hear them.  
  
Soun turned and headed for the voice, "Are you SURE,   
Kasumi??"  
  
Kane-chan joined him, "Are you saying I don't have to be   
the girl?!"  
  
Kasumi was on the grass level below the tier where her   
family was; "The goddess will only help Ranma find her   
feminine side, if YOU agree to find it as well!"  
  
Kane-chan cried, "What!??! I can't be the man!?!"  
  
At the end of the alley, Soun reached for Kasumi's hand   
below; but to Akane said, "So, even in...those kinds of   
relations, one is 'the man'."  
  
Kasumi waited for Kane-chan to offer help with her other   
hand; "Mrs. Priestess assures me one of you will be the   
man. But not until you've both passed the tests of being   
a woman. Only then can you come to a mutual agreement on   
which ones you two will be."  
  
By now, Kane-chan had her other hand and arm, and was   
prepared to help her dad lift her up the stone terrace   
wall; "But I'M the one in dresses!"  
  
(Soun said, "And you look lovely in a dress. My dear,   
beautiful wife, Kimiko, always wore dresses. (Except when   
she was practicing her martial arts, of course.)")  
  
The two martial artists lifted Kasumi quickly and easily   
up onto their level. They had to hold her aloft, though,   
until she had carefully set her pumps down; she didn't   
want to twist an ankle. "Oh, my, yes; it would be easier   
if Ranma changed clothes as easily as you, Akane. Perhaps   
we can find a way. But as Mrs. Priestess said, there is   
more to girls than just clothes."  
  
Kane-chan agreed, "Yes. When I think of girls, I prefer   
to think of something else besides clothes."  
  
Kasumi was now standing as firmly as one could in heels;   
"Just as with that tale of the tortoise and the bunny,   
the contest is not won by who has the head start...or   
something like that."  
  
Kane-chan liked the analogy, And I WON'T win the race to   
be the girl if I am the hare.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Meanwhile, Ranma-chan was telling the panda, "...that's   
why you'll leave this to me!" Again, she broke the   
panda's sign. "...I let you arrange a marriage for me   
before I was born," She smashed another sign, "but WHICH   
one I'm gonna get stuck with is still up to me!" As soon   
as the panda raised a sign, it was kindling. "And as long   
as that crazy Kaneda stays up at bat," She splintered the   
someteenth one. "I just hafta make sure I'm the same   
sex," She karate chopped down this sign's post. "and I   
NOTHING can be official!" Using her arms violently while   
she had boobs didn't help her mood.  
  
"HMF! The one I marry hasta respect me as a man." It was   
a mistake to be talking about one's manhood and kicking a   
sign apart. "And, right now, *I* don't even respect me as   
a man: I need the cure." This last sign, she broke over   
the panda's head. "Or SOMETHING that'll let me forget   
what it feels like to be so...." There was a thesaurus of   
words to describe a woman; but Ranma had never been good   
with words, even when she became a girl, "DIFFERENT than   
a guy!!"   
  
A guy called, "Ranma!? It is Ranma!!"   
  
A Yuka answered, "You're right, Hiroshi; it is Ranma!"   
Those two guys and two girls from Ranma's class were less   
than 10 meters away.  
  
The dark-haired Caucasian girl with them asked in a   
strange accent, "What is-a Ranma doing out of the zoo? I   
thought-a pandas were an endanger species."  
  
Daisuke mind was elsewhere, "Gee, I guess Ranma DOESN'T   
have any dresses or anything."   
  
Sayuri said, "Before you ask about a panda wearing   
dresses, Leonora, Ranma is the girl with it."  
  
The black-haired Leonora said, "Nice 'air color! Do you   
think-a she will tell me what-a she uses?"  
  
Sayuri said, "You're not more interested in finding why   
she's with a panda? I am."  
  
Hiroshi asked, "What's all that wood doing around you,   
Ranma?"  
  
Daisuke said, "I thought pandas only ate bamboo."  
  
Hiroshi asked, "Is busting up wood practice for some   
special martial arts technique, Ranma?"  
  
Ranma-chan looked down and saw that not all of the words   
on the signs were obliterated. "Er, that's right!" she   
said, stomping the nearest boards into splinters.   
  
Sayuri said with satisfaction, "And with her barefoot,   
too!" Ranma-chan had lost her slippers somewhere.  
  
(Daisuke muttered, "That's just about the only part of   
her bare." Still, feet could be sexy, too.)  
  
Leonora said, "I 'ave-a seen anime about-a martial   
artists, ah, but I never thought I would-a see a real   
LIVE one!"  
  
Yuka noted, "The panda is knocking the wood into the   
canal. Doesn't it know that's littering?" It had been   
swiping pieces of the sign past the rail and down the   
levee.   
  
Sayuri asked, "Now, about why you're with a panda--"  
  
Kane-chan called, "Hiroshi! Daisuke! Everybody!"  
  
Everybody turned to see a longhaired girl in a fancy,   
white dress jogging toward them.  
  
Yuka asked, "Who is that?"  
  
Hiroshi said, "That voice. I think I've heard that voice   
before."  
  
Daisuke said, "What are you doing paying attention to   
girls' VOICES!?!" The white dress was too long. Calves   
weren't very sexy, but, on the other hand, dresses were   
always suggestive.  
  
Sayuri said, "Look, maybe she's with the Tendou's." And   
she pointed, "There are Kaneda's dad and sister." And   
they were dressed in their best, Japanese-style clothes.   
  
They watched as Kane-chan ran right past them.  
  
Kane-chan was too late: Ranma-chan had used Kane-chan's   
distraction to make her escape. As for the panda:  
  
Splash!  
  
Kane-chan ran to the railing overlooking the canal.   
Quickly looking around, she picked up the last large   
piece of unbroken wood. Threatening to throw it, she   
yelled at the panda in the water, "Don't even THINK of   
coming back with your wet fur!!"   
  
The panda growled, but then waded away in the shallow   
water.  
  
Leonora was confused, "Japanese are cruel to endanger   
species?...Japanese believe in 'aving a danger animal out   
of a cage?" Then she grinned, "Japan IS-a like their   
anime!"  
  
Hiroshi came up to Kane-chan and asked, "Haven't we met   
before?"  
  
Soun Tendou had come close enough to say, "Akane, we   
still haven't talked."  
  
Kane-chan turned around to look at him and the others.   
The piece of sign she held in front of her read, [...kane   
is a GUY!]  
  
Kasumi took her father by an arm and gently pulled him   
away from the young people, "You'll have your chance,   
Father. Akane will be visiting our home quite often, I   
assure you."  
  
Daisuke moved in, "So: Your name is Akane, hunh?"  
  
Sayuri read, and asked, "Somebody is a guy??"  
  
Kane-chan realized what she was holding in front of her--   
and chucked the words into the canal. Kane-chan's escape   
wasn't going to be as easy as Ranma's. "Uh, who's THIS   
new girl? She's not from around here, is she?"  
  
Yuka said, "This is the daughter of a business associate   
of my Daddums. She's from Florence, Italy."  
  
Leonora said, "Before Yuka can give-a me any more of a   
grandioso introduction, my name is Leonora da Vinci."  
  
Kane-chan thought she'd heard of her, "Oh? It's not   
Leonardo?"  
  
Leonora laughed, "He's a Great-a great-relative of mine!"  
  
Sayuri explained, "She's interested in the same things as   
he was, so we tried to show her the "Castle of Kuno"."  
  
A little pouty, Yuka said, "Only they don't let tourists   
inside, even for international good-will!"  
  
Hiroshi filled Akane in, "Besides being an artist,   
Leonardo da Vinci was an inventor. He would LOVE to see   
"The House of Gadgets" the Kuno place is supposed to be."  
  
Daisuke added, "And not "Gadgets" like the Japanese are   
famous for nowadays: Gadgets as in deadly traps, and   
weapons that make sure unwanted guests DON'T check out   
more than the smallest fraction of its secrets."  
  
Sayuri wrinkled her nose, "Boys!"   
  
But Kane-chan was interested, "Gadgets!! REALLY!?!"   
Maybe I could learn something I could add to my dojo's   
gimmicks.  
  
Leonora giggled, "That's-a why Hiroshi and Daisuke were   
invited with us. Guys generally know more about-a science   
of war than girls."  
  
(Sayuri said, "I prefer to watch the ART of unarmed   
combat.")  
  
Yuka smiled, "Besides, they're boys!"  
  
Hiroshi was less happy, "AND we're considered "safe"."   
He, Daisuke and Kaneda had reputations for being   
perverts, but also harmless ones. Of course, they weren't   
going to tell that to Akane. (Little did they suspect yet   
SHE was largely responsible for those reputations.)  
  
Leonora asked, "We 'ave-a been wandering, and looking for   
some other Nerima land-a-mark of interest. What is over   
there?"  
  
Kane-chan quickly got between them and the way to the   
Temple of the Nine Abilities, "There's nothing good in   
this direction! Have you visited the Zoo? The "Temple of   
the Wild Horse"? --I know: Lovers' Woods!"  
  
Hiroshi cried, "Yes! Lovers' Woods! That's the perfect   
place to go!"  
  
Leonora said, "'Ey, uno momento! We Italiani may speak a   
Romance language, but--"  
  
Daisuke told her, "No, you don't understand: The Woods   
are haunted! It's better than taking your date to a   
haunted house!"  
  
Sayuri told the idiots, "Like THAT'S going to help,   
either." She explained to Leonora, "There's an   
undeveloped wooded area behind the high school. The   
reason it stays that way in the middle of Greater Tokyo   
is because of the Phenomenon."  
  
Yuri said, "The Phantom!" The strange word was close   
enough to "Phenomenon" for her.  
  
Hiroshi said, "Where it is exactly keeps shifting around   
within the woods, even disappearing for a while. But when   
you find it, you can't stand up, sit, or lay down   
straight. It's a gravitational anomaly where up is almost   
down, and a right angle is 135 degrees. If anybody builds   
anything, it fails the building codes."  
  
Leonora was very interested now, "If-a things like-a that   
'appen, why is it not-a famous?"  
  
Yuri said, "The Phantom! You know what phantoms do."  
  
Sayuri said, "Not because of a "phantom". It's   
because..."  
  
Daisuke said, "Akane's gone now, too!"  
  
Hiroshi got serious, "Next time, we're going to keep our   
eyes on those cute girls."   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Ranma-chan was in no mood to test if the huge compound   
was really as much of a fortress as it looked. If it   
wasn't, she could've saved time going through it. She   
would've lost time, if it were. She decided there was no   
real reason why she had to save time. More important was   
not to draw unnecessary attention. The more of that she   
got, the more chances her secret would be found out. She   
should lay off getting into fights for a while.  
  
She was standing on a two-story rooftop across from the   
compound. She looked at the thick, plastered stonewall   
with the clay tiles that formed a roof along its top. She   
said to herself, "If I'm gonna let my secret out, it's   
gonna be on my terms."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Despite the feeling of a corset, Ranma-chan learned a new   
route (by rooftop, walls, fences and rails) to the Tendou   
compound. But when she got there, she was too tired to   
leap over its more modest fortress walls. The gate was   
closed with a large, old padlock. "Maybe I will have to   
jump it." When she tested it, though, she found it hadn't   
locked.   
  
The thing about houses with fusuma/paper doors, it is   
always easy for anybody to break in. The Tendous had   
large ones that opened onto their garden. They cost money   
to replace. That was why Ranma expected and found the   
front door open.   
  
She went straight for the hot water in the bathroom.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Nabiki checked in the bathroom. "Well, Ranma's been here.   
She had followed Ranma-chan's dirty barefoot prints to   
there. And the girl hadn't cleaned them before she went   
into the furo. There was still some grime on them when he   
got out and left a few guy-sized prints." She   
congratulated herself on her detective skill. "Now that I   
know he's here, all I have to do is find where he is."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Ranma-kun was in a lotus position upside down, resting   
his weight on his forearms: For the fourth time that   
afternoon. "Aaarrr!!" he cried, rolling forward onto his   
butt, his ankles still on his thighs. "It's no good!!" He   
looked down at his stomach, "This invisible corset is   
drivin' me crazy! I'm a guy, but I feel like I STILL got   
the girl's middle!" He pulled up his shirt and looked at   
his waist, for the tenth time. "I can see my abs and   
sides come in. If it wasn't for my bigger muscles and   
lower fat, it COULD be the girl's waist!" Disgusted, he   
shoved the shirt back down; "Not that I took the time to   
study anything of that other body." As far as he was   
concerned the best way of dealing with becoming a girl   
was to ignore as much of it as he could.   
  
He sat lotus like with his head bent over as he rubbed   
the back of his neck and shoulders with his hands. "What   
to do!?! This is just another challenge. All I gotta do   
is figure out how to deal with it."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Nabiki waited in the threshold of the open Tendou   
fortress gate. She idly fanned herself with the long,   
Japanese-style envelope she held in her hand. Finally her   
patience was rewarded.   
  
She ducked into the front courtyard, and then through the   
gate that led to the dojo.  
  
When she got there, she saw Ranma-kun still in the lotus   
he was in the last time she'd seen him; only now his back   
was on the floor. The top of his head was pointed towards   
the door, so she just had to walk up to him. He looked up   
at the envelope she lowered before his eyes. [To Kei   
Tendou]   
  
Nabiki presented the envelope, "Here!"   
  
Ranma-kun asked, "What is it?" He had managed to find   
some meditative peace.  
  
Nabiki answered, "It's from Kuno."  
  
Ranma said, "Him, again?"   
  
Nabiki, enjoying the unfolding plot, informed him, "It's   
for your MALE half, Kei Tendou."  
  
Ranma-kun frowned, "My MALE "half" is named Ranma   
Saotome."  
  
Nabiki said, "Yeah, yeah: The same as your GIRL half.   
Don't tell me, tell Kuno." She smirked, "But if you do,   
he'll always know where to find his "Pig-tailed Venus".   
Anybody have any water?"  
  
Ranma-kun got a thoroughly disgusted grimace. Maybe there   
WAS something to be said about having a secret identity.  
  
Meanwhile, Kaneda in his school uniform had heard   
everything from just outside the dojo door. He had   
followed Nabiki from the gate, wondering what she was up   
to now.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Ranma cried out loud as he leaped out of the way of a   
sudden blast of steam just in time.   
  
Across the street from where he'd landed, the oblivious   
man and his machine that was steam cleaning the grim off   
of one of the many concrete buildings in this area of   
town. Ranma-kun said, "MAN! What am I gettin' jumpy   
about!!?! That wasn't COLD water!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Ranma-kun reached the address given in Kuno's letter.   
Whether it was a challenge, Ranma wasn't sure. Kuno's   
elegant calligraphy had left out a lot of the fancy kanji   
he probably preferred and stuck with basic elementary-  
school hiragana. He had even toned down the ornate   
samurai dialect. (All of which meant Kuno was treating   
Ranma-kun like a semi-illiterate peasant, implying Ranma-  
kun was a simpleton, too.) Even so, Kuno had a way of   
making any declaration sound like a challenge. Ranma-kun   
reminded himself about keeping a low profile for a while.  
  
Kuno was waiting in the in front of a modern, six-story   
condo. Ranma-kun had to wonder why the samurai had chosen   
this place of all places, beyond the fact that he   
probably owned it. The martial artist thought it wasn't a   
typical place for a fight. The paved plaza around the   
block-long building was open. The only place outside an   
accomplice could be hiding was around the corner of the   
building.   
  
Then again, Kuno WAS waiting near the corner. The front   
doors were at the corner, too. They were all glass;   
Ranma-kun could see that there was nobody in the lobby.   
But that only meant any henchman inside would not be in   
the first assault wave. THEN there were the balconies   
above.   
  
Whatever the guy's tactics were he was facing in the   
wrong direction. If it were samurai arrogance, Kuno   
spoiled the effect by turning around before Ranma-kun was   
within striking distance. Then again, Kuno had written   
the letter, and HE wanted to set the agenda,   
"Salutations, Saotome." (Also spoiling it was the blond   
doll in the long pink dress and white frilly apron he   
carried in his arm.)  
  
Ranma-kun matched Kuno's superior samurai attitude with   
peasant casualness, "NOW what is it, Kuno. What'd you   
call me out here for?"  
  
Kuno said seriously, "You will address me as Lord Kuno."   
  
Ranma-kun said to "Kuno-sama", "Yeah, WHATEVER. What--"   
Then it registered, "What did you call me?"   
  
Kuno said, "I gave you no slight, NOR honorific. Until I   
know where we stand, I give you no form of address. I   
merely call you Saotome."  
  
Puzzled, Ranma-kun looked down at his normal, male body,   
"Weren't you told my name was Tendou?"  
  
Kuno said, "That I was. But Nabiki Tendou has told me the   
truth."   
  
Ranma-kun became worried now, "She did!?! How much did   
she tell you?!"  
  
Kuno said, "She told me the whole, tragic tale."  
  
Ranma-kun cried, "She had no RIGHT to do that!!"  
  
Kuno said, "Fear, not, Saotome. For the proper   
incentives, LORD Kuno can provide the patronage you need   
to obtain what has been taken from you."  
  
Ranma-kun didn't believe him, "How? The only way I can   
think of getting my cure is--" He sucked in his breath,   
"China! You'd loan me the money to get back there?!" Now   
that Ranma had that thought, he'd have to struggle with   
how much foot kissing he could stand. (Anything higher,   
and he'd kick it before he'd kiss it.)  
  
Frowning, Kuno was now puzzled, "China? How Japanese are   
you? I thought your clan was from Fukuoka."  
  
Ranma-kun joined in, " "Fukuoka"? Where--" Nabiki! "O-OH!   
THAT tale." She HAD said something about Fukuoka to the   
Two Fathers. That was why they couldn't make Kaneda marry   
herself. Then he told him quite firmly, "I'm a hundred   
percent JAPANESE, Kuno. Don't you forget it!" He didn't   
need the samurai idiot questioning his patriotism on top   
of everything else. It was bad enough he was forced to   
wear Chinese clothes.  
  
Kuno was suspicious, "Then what does China have to do   
with your problem, Saotome?"  
  
Ranma-kun had no ideas, but he knew that "China has a   
longer history of martial arts than Japan." THAT'S how   
Ranma's most recent curse began! Stupid Old Man!! He'd   
run out of places in Japan to steal techniques from; he   
HAD to go to countries where you couldn't even understand   
they might be in trouble BEFORE they got into it!   
  
Kuno's frown became scornful, "Humph! "Martial Arts"." As   
far as he was concerned the only skills deserving of that   
term were those taught to the samurai warriors of old;   
ways that were all but unique in the world. He didn't   
even respect the impure Chinese warrior-class. "You wish   
to go to China? No doubt, you have kin in China bowing   
before foreign teachers."  
  
Ranma-kun decided he couldn't kiss this jerk's feet.   
"Okay, we've established you're not gonna send me to   
China. Now tell me what you called me here for."  
  
Kuno tossed the cute, blond doll, "This!" Ranma-kun   
caught the thing. At least it wasn't booby-trapped. (At   
least that, like using ninja assassins, didn't look to be   
the samurai's style.)   
  
Ranma-kun asked, "What is "this"?"  
  
Kuno told him sarcastically, "It's a cute dolly."  
  
So much for respecting him; Ranma-kun answered, "I know   
that, you jerk! What's it for?!"  
  
Kuno told him, "It is for Akane. For my advocacy of your   
cause to the nobility of Fukuoka, I merely require you to   
give up your claim to her hand." Fukuoka nobility? Ranma   
wasn't about to ask this idiot what that meant.   
  
Ranma-kun tossed it back to Kuno; "Forget it. As much as   
I'd like to get rid of her, I can't. As long as I have   
her, I don't have to worry about the other fiancees   
waitin' to take her place."  
  
Kuno cried, " "O, other, fi-ancees"!!? You have more than   
ONE fiancée!?!!"  
  
Ranma-kun pushed past him, "GEEZ! I hope not." Not after   
the fiancée fiasco that happened LAST year. "But I'll   
tell you what. You can DATE her all you want."   
  
Kuno squeezed the doll in his hand; he said with   
indignation, "You unspeakable CAD, you!! You ADMIT that   
you are merely using poor, benighted Akane for your own   
ends!! You have no intention to.... Did you say I can,   
DATE her??"  
  
Ranma-kun said, "Well, sure! I as heck don't plan on   
goin' on any. And as for 'Akane', I doubt she'd WANT me   
to, lookin' like I do now." Not that she'd want to go out   
with this GUY any better. Ranma was in no danger of   
losing his anti-marriage insurance.   
  
Still slightly confused, Kuno said, "THAT I can well   
understand. You ARE lacking in sartorial je ne sais quoi,   
as well as mannerly panache, my uncouth peasant."  
  
Ranma-kun turned the corner, "Yeah, yeah. You've got all   
that--" He bumped into a rack of clothes. It was the kind   
on wheels he'd seen in garment districts and the like,   
and he'd actually managed to nearly knock it over.   
Keeping them from falling, "Wow! Some woman's--" he   
corrected himself when he saw three Furinkan girls'   
uniforms, and one fuku that was a brown skirt and a white   
middy with a brown sailor collar and red sailor scarf,   
"Some GIRL'S a real clothes horse in this place."  
  
Kuno was reminded, "That is the other matter I wished to   
bring up with you, Kei Saotome."  
  
Ranma-kun told him, "My name ain't "Kei" Saotome."   
Another step towards dealing with what had happened to   
him.  
  
Kuno said, "As you wish. I can understand how you would   
take a vow to foreswear your proper appellation until you   
can savor it as victory when your true birth name is   
awarded you."  
  
Not sure exactly sure what was just said, Ranma said, "If   
you say so." With the crowded clothes rack back up, Ranma   
eyed it briefly before having to listen to the idiot   
again. Besides the school uniforms, it had a wide of   
assortment of the kind of clothes girly girls were   
expected to wear. (There were street dresses, a few   
skirts and blouses, a tennis outfit, a sundress, a   
yukata, a couple of gowns, and a frou-frou dress-  
something; there was even a shelf underneath them with   
shoes and boxes with things inside Ranma didn't want to   
think about.) The thought of them made his stomach   
tighten even more under the corset.   
  
Kuno informed him, "I had the town's only haute couture   
boutique send over an assortment. Money was no object,   
but time was."   
  
Ranma-kun eyed the taller guy; "They're yours?" What is   
he, some cross-dresser? THAT thought made his stomach   
feel like doing worse than just turn.  
  
Kuno said, "Only until such time as they meet with your   
approval, Tendou nee Saotome."   
  
Ranma-kun raised his voice, "MY approval!!?! What'd you   
need MY approval for!?!! You don't think I'm gonna WEAR   
any of that, that--STUFF!!?!"   
  
Kuno's face was screwed in a grimace; "Of course not! I   
have thought many ill things of you, Kei Tendou, but   
CROSS-DRESSING hadn't been one of them. Can you REALLY   
fit into a petit size?"  
  
Ranma-kun, now, did yell, "How should *I* know!!?! I don't   
know anything about how stretchable modern fabrics are!!   
-- What am I sayin'!!? *I* don't wear girls' ANY things!!"  
  
Kuno's grimace eased, "Then you are the man to pass them   
on to the lady I bought them for."  
  
Ranma-kun was still loud, "Akane?! SURE! She'd LOVE more   
girly clothes!" Ranma-kun said it with sarcasm to make   
himself feel better.   
  
Kuno heard something different. For the sake of his   
objectives, he had laid his opinion of the Tendous aside.   
He had not seen Akane lately in the dresses Kasumi was   
putting in Kaneda's magic tool chest. He still thought   
the Saotome women were being forced to endure unfeminine   
roles. To Kuno, the mockery was a confirmation of his   
fears about where the Tendou men got their extraordinary   
prowess, namely by destroying reputations. They used the   
sheer perverse thrill they got from it to tap into their   
chi. That would make it a base, infernal martial arts   
technique. Or they ACTUALLY consumed reputations. That   
would make Kaneda and Kei in league with evil spirits.   
  
Kuno began to see where his thinking had gone astray,   
"No, not the Wild Haired Huntress, Akane." Nabiki hadn't   
told him to buy clothes for Akane. "Though I would not   
mind providing a wardrobe that matched this one in   
substance and generosity. After all, I cannot allow any   
misunderstanding of favoritism to creep into my bi-  
fractured relationships. Yes: I WILL call the boutique   
and have them deliver--"  
  
Ranma-kun said, "Later, Kuno, alright?! Just TELL me   
already how do I come in, if this poodle-dog fluff ain't   
for Akane?"   
  
Kuno drew himself up and said with all samurai dignity,   
"As I displayed my superior honorableness by approaching   
Akane through you, her fiance, I now do the same by   
asking you to intercede with your erstwhile kinfolk on my   
behalf. I wish them to condone my dating your cousin, the   
pig-tailed beauty, Ranma Saotome."  
  
Ranma cried, "WHAT!?!! Date you!!? You're out of your   
stupid mind, if you think I'm gonna allow that!"  
  
Kuno yelled back, "You are willing to let me date with   
your fiance, but not your cousin!?!!"  
  
Ranma-kun told him, "That's right! Akane means nothing to   
me: RANMA is FAR more important!"  
  
Kuno cried, "FA-AR more important!!? Just HOW close a   
cousin is Ranma to you!?!! Perhaps you would treat her as   
something OTHER than hallowed kin!"  
  
Ranma-kun walked away, "You've got that right. And to   
you, PAL, Ranma's gonna be so off limits you'll never see   
her again, if *I* have anything to say about it."  
  
Kuno clenched his fist and lowered eyes in righteous   
fury, "THAT is why you treat poor, feral Akane so   
shamefully! You have captured her spirit, giving her no   
avenue out of your maze of deceit. NOW, you would do the   
same with fiery Ranma!!"  
  
Ranma-kun stopped, sensing danger. A stainless steel   
washtub crashed to the pavement in front of him from a   
condo apartment above. It landed on a damp splatter where   
water had come down not long ago.  
  
Nabiki appeared from behind the short hedge planted along   
the side of the condo's plaza; "I guess you can't always   
trust the curse to get the timing right." She used a   
spray bottle to get Ranma wet. "Then again, you two were   
talking so long, the curse probably got tired of   
waiting."  
  
Kuno broke out of his monolog: "Nnn, NEVER! *I*, Lord   
Tatewaki Kuno, will personally save the world from the   
Tendous!! I would spend ALL of my own and my family's   
immense reputation to save the Saotomes! I will live to   
see--" He spun the now much shorter Kei Tendou around. He   
was amazed to notice the red haired "Ranma Saotome!!?"  
  
Kuno's attack mode took a moment to shift gears; "My   
love! My Pig-tailed Venus!" He reached to pull her small   
body to his manly one, "How I've longed--"  
  
Ranma-chan punched him hard enough in the face to break   
any normal person's nose.  
  
Absorbing the blow, Kuno quickly did a counter-move; he   
hugged her tightly to his bosom. "I shall never let you   
go again!"   
  
Nabiki had planned for this as well; using towels to hold   
the family teakettle, she poured its contents over Ranma.  
  
Ranma screamed and flailed her arms, "YE-OWW,W!!"  
  
Nabiki 'apologized', "I'm sorry, Ranma: Was that too   
hot?"  
  
Kuno was slow to realize, "Ranma, you said??"  
  
Ranma-kun got loose from the now weakened embrace, and   
brought his foot up to meet the guy's face. (Still no   
broken nose!) "How long do you plan on holdin' me, PAL!"  
  
Ranma-kun replanted his foot, and made ready to leave by   
the concrete stairs to the lower tier of the condo's   
plaza. "Do you get it now? My secret." So much for the   
jerk not knowing where "his Pig-tailed Venus" could be   
found. Puke!  
  
Kuno watched Kei descend. "I shall not call you Saotome   
again. You do not deserve to share the same name as my   
two faultless loves. For you have learned the ways of the   
Tendous too well: You have become a practitioner of their   
black magic."  
  
In his sudden stop, Ranma-kun almost stumbled down the   
stairs, "Argh!!"  
  
Kuno challenged him, "Where have you hidden my goddess,   
Ranma?!! Do not try to fool ME with your petty trickery,   
Evil One!!"  
  
Ranma-kun couldn't believe what this dangerous whacko was   
saying; he attempted a smile, "Oh, come on! It's not like   
that!"  
  
Nabiki knew Kuno had gone off into his world of Japanese   
legends-and-folklore (with, no doubt, some European   
myths-and-tales thrown in out of his confusion). She   
could make use of Kuno-baby's delusions. But, first,   
there were her plans for Ranma. For those, she needed   
Kuno to back off, and RANMA to think she could be on his   
side. "Hmm! Looks like we're going to have to spell   
everything out for him." She took her finger away from   
her lips, and motioned, "Come here, Kuno-baby." When he   
did come, she told him, "Here's thing. You know that girl   
you like?" She couldn't resist the temptation to be   
melodramatic (and ambiguous). "Well, her body and, soul,   
BOTH belong to Kei." Why be any clearer? If the two heard   
her the way she wanted them each to, her options would be   
kept open. "And you know what THAT means?"  
  
Whunkle! A second stainless steel washtub fell on Kuno's   
head.  
  
The newlywed husband said from above, "Be careful! Now   
you've dropped the one my mother gave us!"  
  
His wife answered, "Why do we need things like that in a   
modern condo, anyway? Is our budget THAT tight we can't   
use the Laundromat!"   
  
As the lovebirds started yet another round of   
communication up above, Kuno was struggling with the idea   
of, "Her, body...and her, soul!..." It was as evil as   
he'd thought. It was as intolerable as he thought: He   
tossed the washtub from his head for the, "Svengali!! "  
  
Ranma-kun jumped over it, and backwards to the lower   
plaza. Landing, he pointed, "Ghugh! Kuno! How STUPID can   
you be!?!"  
  
Kuno ran up to the low hedge, "Silence, wretch! I can see   
all too well what your evil has done!" He ducked down out   
of sight.  
  
Up came the cute, little dolly, followed by Kuno. (Nabiki   
was standing there where she could see all of Kuno. She   
wondered where the toy had come from all of a sudden. Did   
he have the same way with dolls as Kaneda had with   
mallets?) Using the hedge as a puppet stage, Kuno did the   
voices, " "Hello, there, Pig-tailed girl"." And he gave a   
"Punch" slap to its face. The "Judy" cried, "Eee." The   
lecher voice said, "Hey! Just be quiet and do as you're   
told!" The blue-eyed imitation girl answered, "Ye, ye,   
yes, Master!" The evil master said, "Here I come," and   
pulled his plaything down out of sight. It pleaded, "Oh,   
me! Oh, oh: Mother!"   
  
A flower was plucked and tossed up on the hedge top. A   
cold, sick shiver went through Ranma-kun.  
  
Nabiki clapped. Ranma was not amused.  
  
It was Kuno not his depiction of Kei that returned,   
sobbing, "Oh-ow! It's so terrible."  
  
Ranma-kun told him, "Leave me outa your sick fantasies,   
pal!"   
  
Kuno rose, "SILENCE, you enslaver of women!" And he   
leaped over the hedge, his hard wooden sword now in his   
hand. He landed slashing.  
  
Ranma-kun leaned this way and that, avoiding each wind-  
cutting blow.   
  
Kane-chan watched from one of the stele-like posts that   
flanked this street's official entrance to the condo's   
plaza. She had not been as lucky as Ranma in avoiding the   
steam that was cleaning the building a couple of blocks   
down. As soon as she changed into a girl, she had   
discovered that Kasumi had returned home; she had   
replaced the more formal white dress for the pink jumper   
and white dress she had Kane-chan in yesterday.   
  
Kuno told Kei, "I shall SMITE thee, then I shall rescue   
Ranma Saotome!!"  
  
Ranma-kun answered, "Oh, I get it: If you lose, you'll   
forget all about her, right!?" And he grabbed the top of   
Kuno's bokken, using it to vault his legs up. Both feet   
struck Kuno solidly in the chest.   
  
As Kuno recoiled to absorb the blow, small squares came   
out of his kendo-gi's sternum-baring coat.   
  
Ranma-kun caught the glint of gloss-and-color from one of   
those square fluttering down. He took it and looked.  
  
It was a photo of HIM! SHE was taking off her wet   
undershirt! There was a flash of one of her boobs. But   
the camera was at an angle where the only one with a good   
view of them was Mr. Tendou. (He must've gotten a good   
peek; he was spewing milk.)  
  
Kuno saw the opportunity distractions brought: His battle   
cry was "Fortune smiles!!" as he smote the pervert caught   
by his own impurity.   
  
Ranma-kun was hit in a 'corset' rib. It's force caused   
him to stumble away. But he refused to fall. He recovered   
enough to continue to dodge the samurai's sword.   
  
The bokken created enough of the wind to blow five more   
of the photos within Ranma's grasp. They weren't all of   
him as a girl. There were some of Kaneda as an uncute   
tomboy. HEY! These are--"  
  
Though Kei had more cause to be distracted, his skills   
now allowed him to easily keep the sword from touching   
him. A somewhat winded Kuno cried, "You insult me with   
your inattention!? I shall teach you not to take Tatewaki   
Kuno so lightly!" This time the samurai thrust the point   
of his weapon forward with all of his speed.  
  
Ranma-kun tumbled backward. He HAD been distracted. His   
momentum carried his tumble meters away.  
  
It carried him straight to the feet of some girl. But it   
wasn't just some girl; "Hello. Akane!" Akane?? All that   
talk of Akane must have stuck in Ranma's mind. Well, it   
WAS better than thinking of himself being engaged to a   
"Kaneda".  
  
Kane-chan frowned down on him, "EXCUSE me, but I think   
there's something you ought to know. When Kuno gets   
really mad about something he's REALLY hard to beat.   
You'd better start paying attention to what you're doing   
or he's going to make you regret it."   
  
Ranma-kun noticed that Nabiki was coming. He answered   
'Akane' with, "And there's something I think you ought to   
know. You're still wearing those polka-dotted panties and   
they still don't suit you, even from this angle."  
  
He HAD to remind Kane-chan she was wearing girls'   
underwear! It was bad enough being stuck into a dress:   
"Say things like that when YOU'RE wearing them!!" Ranma   
was so low she couldn't attack him with any of the   
standard Tendou techniques. "Tendou Upper Body Whip-  
Crack, REVISED: Tendou LOWER Body Whip-Crack!!"   
  
KICK!!  
  
It, it worked! Ranma-kun was sent flying up into the air.   
  
Ranma-kun landed almost where his tumble had begun.   
  
And he was smiling: Obviously Kane-chan would have to   
work on perfecting the technique she'd just came up with.  
  
Kuno was smiling, too, "At last this game ends!" And he   
chuckled confidently.   
  
He attacked! HAD he found Ranma's weak point: He was   
attacking with stab after rapid stab of the point of his   
bokken. What was one looked to the untrained eye like ten   
swords! Ranma-kun had to really work to avoid the   
advancing wall of jabbing spikes. He was forced to   
backtrack as he looked for an opening in the offense.  
  
The stele-like post beside Kane-chan suddenly developed   
deep cracks.   
  
Nabiki said, "Whoa! From just the air pressure alone!"  
  
Pieces shattered off of the post. Kane-chan gasped in   
surprise.  
  
Ranma-kun saw that Akane had barely moved away from it OR   
the way he was being backed into. He was going down! "Out   
of the way stupid!!"  
  
Kuno at last raised his sword for the final slash, "I   
have you!!"  
  
Kane-chan cried, "Look NOW!! The opening!!"  
  
Ranma had hoped something like that would happen when he   
went down. In a handstand, he brought one leg up. From   
lower abdomen to face, it was one fluid motion to the   
untrained eye. They wouldn't even be certain if Ranma-kun   
had struck ANY blow at all.   
  
Ranma-kun somersaulted away using just that one hand, to   
land meters away. The scion of samurai was still   
standing, though, his sword still poised.  
  
Kane-chan sucked in her breath. DID I see what I thought   
I saw?!! Or was it just wishful thinking!? Damn!! I wish   
my senses were better trained!  
  
Nabiki was even more uncertain, "HUNH?"   
  
Ranma-kun said with a slight smirk, "It's all   
over...Kuno."  
  
Kuno lowered his bokken. "You will address me as Lor,   
Lord...." He collapsed face forward onto the pavement.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Meanwhile, a Mercedes-Benz had pulled up to a stop not   
too far down the block. The man who got out of it had   
already been following the fight. His punch-perm hair,   
overly expensive suit, and hint of tattoos around the   
cuffs suggested that if he wasn't a stereotypical member   
of the Yakuza/Japanese mafia, he wanted others to think   
he was.  
  
  
The End of this chapter 


	12. 12: Check Mate

Ranma & Kaneda  
By Ron Dow75  
  
12: Check Mate  
  
[Kuno is bandaged only a bit differently here.]  
  
  
The battle was over, and "Lord" Kuno was laying face down   
on the pavement of the plaza around the condo.   
  
Both Kane-chan and Nabiki went over to the for once   
silent samurai.   
  
Nabiki asked, "So; how'd you do that, Ranma?"  
  
Kane-chan thought she knew, but she didn't like making a   
fool of herself. She turned over still male and pushed   
him over onto his back with one hand. She was right: The   
kend-gi was had the grit from Ranma-kun's slippers on it,   
and the exposed skin was black-and-blue with footprints.   
It looked as if the vacant-eyed teen had been trampled   
from groin to hair. Kane-chan was impressed, "Wow, each   
blow hit a vulnerable spot." And more.   
  
Nabiki squatted and studied the evidence, "You mean you   
kicked him? I couldn't even see your feet move."  
  
Ranma-kun put his hands up behind his head, "Hunh! I   
thought "Lord" Kuno'd put up more of a fight."  
  
Kane-chan asked, "What do you mean, Ranma; you took a   
hit, too, didn't you?"  
  
Ranma-kun said, "It's nothing."  
  
Kane-chan wondered just HOW superior Ranma was, "You mean   
right over here?" She bent down, "Is it really okay?" and   
poked the spot on his corset-narrowed waist she KNEW had   
been struck by Kuno's hard wood bokken.   
  
Ranma-kun was suddenly no longer casual: His strangled   
his cry of agony as his hands reacted to it. He finally   
had to put his hands over the hurt.  
  
Kane-chan was sore, A bluff!! He almost had me believing   
he WAS at master-grade! Kane-chan stood up to him, "So   
it's nothing, hunh!? Say! What was it that distracted you   
in the fight, any way?!"  
  
Ranma-kun held up two photos: They were Kane-chan in   
Kaneda's do-gi working out.   
  
Kane-chan stared at them for a second. "What in the   
world?" Why would they take Ranma's mind off of his   
fight? And "What were you doing with these photos of   
me?" What do guys USUALLY do with pictures of girls?   
Suddenly she saw them as Kaneda could, if they were   
pictures of "real" girls, not herself. She grabbed them   
away from him, "I'm afraid to even ask about it."   
Because I don't want to THINK about it!!  
  
Ranma-kun cried, "What was I--KUNO had the photos!"   
  
Kane-chan cried, "OH-Hrrr! NABIKI!!"  
  
Nabiki grinned, merrily, "Can't blame a girl for trying   
to make a little cash."  
  
Kane-chan realized even as she scoffed, "Hah!" that as a   
GIRL, Nabiki could make more money off of photos of her.  
  
Ranma-kun said, turning his back to her, "Hmmh! What's   
the big deal? Who'd want a bunch of boring shots like   
these, any way?" And he pulled out another photo. Talking   
to her over his shoulder, he showed her it was of a half-  
naked girl-Ranma! "You'd better start workin' on makin'   
yourself at least half as sexy as me, or you'll NEVER get   
me to take a second look, let alone marry you."   
  
But what REALLY pushed Kane-chan's button was when he   
flicked the photo towards her!   
  
Kane-chan seethed, "Ohrrr!!" Like you're TOO much of a   
guy to care! You WANT me to think you're not bothered if   
I see you as a naked girl!! She reached down and picked   
up Kuno's sword from the pavement.   
  
Kane-chan chased after him, "Get back here, Ranma!"  
  
Ranma was confident, and he WAS teasing. He could have   
easily outraced Kane-chan. Instead he let her think she   
had a shot at hitting him with the stick.  
  
Kane-chan cried, "Okay!!? Let's SEE who's guy enough not   
to care: I'll flash out here, NOW!!"  
  
Nabiki put her camera to her eye; "THIS will go in my   
files."  
  
Ranma-kun says, "She wouldn't!" But he had to turn around   
to find out.  
  
Kane-chan jumped up into the air so she could put all of   
her girlish weight into hitting him with the bokken.   
"HA!!" It struck Ranma-kun in the middle of his no longer   
smug face.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Nabiki was still gloating when she brought her camera   
down. But then she saw a large, thuggish man approach   
from the direction opposite that Ranma-kun and Kaneda-  
chan had taken. He had the look of a stereotypical   
yakuza, down to his flashy suit, and carefully pumped up   
perm; this one even had mirror shades to add to his   
intimidation effect. When he got close enough to her, she   
saw that he had what looked to be tattoos on his wrists.   
Yakuza had them on all of their body, from their necks to   
hands and ankles.  
  
The taller, broader person said as if he already knew,   
"Nabiki Tendou?"  
  
Nabiki momentarily wished she had kept up with her   
martial arts practice. But only momentarily. That would   
have subtracted time better spent doing better things,   
like making money. "I'm Nabiki Tendou," she said in her   
best Cool as an Ice Queen fashion. She would NOT be   
intimidated.  
  
The gangster-type said, "Da boss would like to talk to   
you." He motioned his head towards the Mercedes-Benz a   
few meters up the block.  
  
Her arms crossed, Tendou asked, "And who is YOUR boss?"  
  
He told her, "Mr. Zyunzi Ozu."  
  
Nabiki uncrossed her arms, startled, "What!??!" She   
started heading for the expensive car. The gorilla   
followed.   
  
Sure enough, there in the back seat was a boy not too   
much younger than her 17 years. The only thing that kept   
him from being a stereotypical geek was his expensive   
workout sweats, and that he didn't wear glasses. She was   
talking to him well before she stopped beside the car,   
"If I knew you had anything to do with gangsters, I   
wouldn't have contacted you!"  
  
Ozu said, "I quite understand. And I assure you I am NOT   
part of any larger gangster organization."  
  
Tendou looked over her shoulder at the looming yakuza-  
wannabe, "What about him?"  
  
Ozu said, "A bodyguard. And, as you may have noticed, he   
has a "persuasive" personality. I DO have to deal with   
real people once in a while."  
  
Tendou still had her doubts. She looked at his wrists,   
"What about the tattoos."  
  
Ozu got a very pleased grin, "There're not tattoos: It's   
an idea of mine! Show her, Jouji."  
  
Tendou turned around to watch as the muscle addressed by   
his first name looked around for his target. He found it   
in the stele-like posts that marked this street's   
official entrance to the condo's plaza. He lifted and   
pointed his hand at the post Kuno had cracked and broken   
pieces from just by the wind-pressure of his bokken.   
Almost faster than Nabiki's eye could follow, something   
flew from his hand and struck the post. Everything   
cracked became shattered, falling to pavement as debris.   
  
(And one piece knocked Kuno out again as he was sitting   
up.)  
  
Tendou cocked an eyebrow as her concession that it was a   
"persuasive" demonstration.   
  
Ozu told his man, "Jouji, show Miss Tendou your wrist."   
As Jouji lifted his wrist, Tendou saw that the tattoos   
weren't real; instead they were colored markings on,   
"...A space-age polymer that I found a new use for. There   
are bands of them around his wrist. With a mere practiced   
motion of his hand, he can send one or more out at a   
classified range with classified destructiveness. It   
avoids the anti-gun laws of Japan quite nicely."  
  
Tendou said, "I see: You have souped-up rubber bands. How   
very elementary, as in school."  
  
Ozu was not pleased with the characterization; "The   
polymer surrounds OTHER parts of his body, as well.   
THERE, it has other uses."  
  
Jouji spoke, "It doesn't breathe. It's hot, and it chafes   
me. It makes me grouchy."  
  
Tendou was still Nabiki in attitude, "All very good for   
the role of the guy you don't want to say "No" to." She   
turned to the boy in the car, "But I'm STILL not sure I   
want to do business with you. Are sure you're not   
Yakuza?"  
  
Ozu said, "And pay the organization a percentage? It   
would cut into my profits."  
  
THAT was something Nabiki Tendou could relate to. But how   
could Little Zyunzi trust...Oh! "Jouji Ozu! Big   
brother. She took one last glance at him, The larger   
half-brother, at that.   
  
She returned her steady gaze at the brains of the family,   
"I don't like the idea of intimidation."  
  
Ozu got out of the car, "Then you must tell me, sometime,   
how you DO collect from customers that don't want to pay   
their gambling debts. You see, I did some research on   
your business, as well."  
  
Nabiki Tendou said, "I give the best odds and easiest   
payments to the addicts."  
  
Ozu smirked, "And that is the ONLY reason you're the only   
bookie in your neighborhood?" But he wasn't really   
interested in HER business, "Tell me, how you are going   
to make YOUR payment to me?"  
  
Nabiki directed Ozu towards the plaza, "You mean the   
second installment? There are some designer gowns on a   
rack over here. They'd only go to waste, anyway. It's   
going to be hard enough to get Ranma out of what she   
wears now without getting her to go out to a formal   
event."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Tatewaki Kuno woke up with Nabiki Tendou kneeling beside   
him, wrapping him in bandages; "...You will...address me,   
as Lord Kuno..."  
  
Nabiki said, "Sure thing, Kuno-baby. I'd have somebody   
who knew what they're doing look at your wounds." She did   
know there was no reason to wrap his arms and legs,   
Ranma's kicks had stayed on the samurai's mid-line; she   
just liked making him to look like a mummy.   
  
Kuno mumbled, "The, the family herbalist...He can   
practically work, miracles."   
  
Nabiki looked down on her work (and there HAD been more   
work to it than she was used to doing). She wondered if   
the herbalist would have to take the bandages off to   
treat him. Well, even if Kuno didn't show up at school   
looking this bad, she had the photos of him. She   
suppressed a girlish chuckle, At least I have photos   
that OUGHT to embarrass any normal guy.   
  
But Kuno-sama would have to figure out for himself how he   
became completely wrapped yet was, now, in his kendo coat   
and hamaka pants. He sat up with, "Wh, where is Kei   
Tendou!?! Did, the cowardly bounder run!?!" He sounded as   
if he didn't remember it was the great Blue Thunder that   
had lost.  
  
Nabiki thought, the blows to the head MAY have driven it   
out of the idiot's short-term memory. But, then again,   
Kuno-baby WAS an idiot. "That's right, Kuno. That's why   
you're covered head to foot in bandages." Nabiki was   
businesswoman enough not to tell a client anything he   
wasn't prepared to hear.   
  
Kuno saw the bandages for the first time. "A lucky blow.   
No doubt, the churl got the worst of the engagement."  
  
Nabiki said, "That's yet to be seen. (I wonder how many   
double entendres like that there will be.)"  
  
Kuno asked, "Did you say something, Nabiki Tendou?"  
  
Nabiki said, "Yes. I will deliver your gift to your "Pig-  
tailed Girl", Ranma Saotome."   
  
Kuno got up to kneeling, but the action tightened the   
bandages before he could take Nabiki's hand. "You would   
do that!?! Even though it is unacceptable to an accepted   
member of your own family!?" Meaning "Kei Tendou".  
  
Nabiki told him, "I make no promises about the approval   
the girly clothes will get from Ranma."   
  
Kuno nodded, thinking he understood, "Of course, the   
messenger is not the recipient. But at least I will know   
the message of my intentions will have been delivered."   
And he clenched his fist, "The intentions of that cad of   
a cousin of hers, Kei Tendou, are neither proper nor   
honorable! No doubt he will have Ranma's kin attempt to   
poison her mind against me!"  
  
Nabiki told him, "Yes, no doubt the male side of Ranma   
will continue to resist your advances."   
  
Kuno managed to rise to his feet; he said as a man with a   
vision, "But I know that once freed from her dependent   
status, Ranma Saotome will have no choice but to love   
me!"   
  
Nabiki took her time rising, "Uh, hunh. What about AKANE   
Saotome? In the story I heard," from Mr. Saotome, "it   
looked as if she THREW herself at you, unprovoked.   
Doesn't that show her feelings for you are deeper than   
Ranma's?"   
  
Kuno's vision shifted under his head-wrap, "Ah, yes: The   
Wild Haired Girl!"  
  
Nabiki held up a hand, "Time out, Kuno-baby. The "Pig-  
tailed Girl" I can understand, but "Wild Haired Girl"?   
How did you come up with THAT nickname for her?"  
  
Kuno looked at Akane's raven locks, "I use that   
appellation because her long tresses go unrestrained."  
  
Nabiki nodded, "And without any hairspray, gel or mousse.   
Wild, it is. Okay, Kuno, resume play; justify your two-  
timing of Akane."  
  
Kuno-sama said, "It is not two-timing when one's heart   
beats with equal force for each passion. I must go where   
my pure heart directs," he held his hands apart, "but   
since it can go neither right nor left, I must let THEM   
decide who shall win my noble heart."  
  
Through deeply lowered eyelids, Nabiki asked, "You expect   
them to fight each other for YOU?"  
  
The cursed Kuno raised his hands, "Of course not! I wish   
to see no harm come to their beauty; spiritual or   
physical." He stood as dignified as a mummy could, "The   
one who becomes my prize is the one who proves herself   
the MOST capable. Only a woman of truly blest can be   
joined with Takewaki Kuno as one."   
  
Nabiki still had her eyelids lowered. "I think you're   
missing a connection in your logic, Kuno." As if that   
were new. Then she thought of something; she felt vaguely   
insulted, "Are you saying I wasn't capable enough for   
you?"  
  
Kuno told her mater-of-factly, "Not at all, Nabiki   
Tendou. It was BECAUSE you are so capable that I first   
dated with you. But your talents, I came to realize, were   
not those best suited for a samurai."  
  
Nabiki said, "Kuno, I have EXACTLY the talents a MODERN   
samurai needs. They are the rulers of the bureaucracy   
and.... Oh, never mind! I, too, have come to realize I   
can put my talents to better use elsewhere.   
  
"So, Kuno, what present shall you give Akane?"  
  
Kuno looked back towards where he had last seen, "The   
doll." Then he looked away, "No, I cannot give Akane   
Saotome that when her cousin Ranma receives an expensive   
wardrobe. --Hold a while, Nabiki, and I will have you   
deliver a similar rack of feminine finery! At least THIS   
gift should meet with Kei Tendou's approval, the cur."  
  
Nabiki held up her hand, "But not mine! My big sister,   
Kasumi, is happy dressing up her life-sized doll, Kuno-  
baby. You don't want me to disappoint the woman who's   
like a mother to me, now, do you? Right. So here's what I   
want you to do..."   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kasumi was back at home and back in her usual clothes.   
After doing some chores habit wouldn't let her put off,   
she was back upstairs in the hallway between the bedrooms   
and the guest room. It was time to think Feng Shui. "Oh,   
my. Well, the best place for the omamori, I suppose,   
would be halfway between Akane's and Ranma's rooms." She   
nodded, satisfied with the solution. "That would be a   
place where neither owned anything, and that would show   
no favoritism.   
  
She smiled, "And that would be MY room! How very   
convenient." Her smile slipped as she realized, "Oh, my!   
Kaneda's tool chest! That's in my closet...but it IS on   
Ranma's side. No, to be fair, I will have to find   
something of Ranma's too keep in my room. I DO like the   
idea of selecting the perfect outfits for my new sister.   
She has yet no idea what a proper young lady should   
wear."  
  
She turned to gaze at the guest room. "Now, what can I   
possibly get from Ranma that'll balance things out? It   
SHOULD be something magic."  
  
Nabiki had just come up the stairs, "Just think in terms   
of voodoo."  
  
Kasumi gave a small, startled cry, "Oh, my! I couldn't   
use voodoo on a guest."  
  
Nabiki let pass the implication of who Oneesan would use   
voodoo on, "If you're concerned about some magical bad   
luck because of some Oriental idea of imbalance, just get   
a lock of Ranma's hair." She assumed that was why Kasumi   
was interested in getting something of Ranma's. Nabiki   
seldom tried to figure Oneesan out. They just didn't   
think the same.  
  
Kasumi asked, "Ranma's hair?"  
  
Nabiki walked towards her, "I assume it remains connected   
to Ranma. At least that's the way magic is supposed to   
work, isn't it? If IT changes colors, then the magic is   
still there."  
  
Kasumi smiled, "That sounds logical!" Then she noticed   
what her little sister was carrying, "Nabiki! What a   
cute, little doll! Is that yours?"  
  
Nabiki looked at the blue-eyed, blond doll in the long   
pink dress, "Of course not: I am WAY beyond playing with   
dolls. I talked Kuno into letting me have it. I don't   
think it's worth much, but every little yen helps."  
  
Kasumi was confused, "Kuno, the samurai boy who Kaneda   
practices his martial arts skills with? What was he doing   
with a dolly?"  
  
Nabiki said, "He was going to give it to either Ranma or   
Akane. I talked him out of giving it to them."  
  
Kasumi became excited, "Oh, my! Something that belongs to   
both, and neither! And it's so adorable it HAS to be full   
of Yin! Nabiki, may I have it?!"   
  
Nabiki looked from her 'big' sister to the little doll.   
She sighed, then tossed her the little girl's thing,   
"Sure, why not!" When Kasumi caught it, Nabiki said to   
her, "But you've got to help get Ranma and Akane out of   
the house. I have some things hidden that I don't want   
them to see me taking up into my room." She smiled,   
"They're ALSO something from Kuno-baby."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Out the Tendou open garden door, sunset could be seen   
coming.  
  
Still angry, Ranma-kun threw his bookbag down on the   
floor of the Tendou family room. He wasn't thinking about   
the homework he'd neglected for four days, now: "Stupid   
girl!" He plopped down on one of the cushions around the   
table, "HMH!" Somebody, the oldest sister, no doubt, had   
left snacks to help him keep to his work area. He grabbed   
the bag of potato chips, and shoved them in his mouth.   
  
In the middle of the fourth handful, he had spit what was   
still in his mouth out. "Plah!!" He picked up the teapot   
by his side, and guzzled the tea inside from the spout.   
  
Several gulps later, he picked up the bag and threw it at   
the far wall in disgust! "HER problem is she doesn't know   
SHE'S supposed to be a girl! That's how STUPID she is!   
Girls are supposed to be soft and giving, and not come   
AFTER you! Homes where MADE for them, for crying out   
loud!"  
  
He slammed his fists down on the table, "And cute: Girls   
are SUPPOSED to be cute!! There's nothing CUTE about a   
girl that can become a guy!"  
  
"But remind her, and she does things to you that no REAL   
girl would do to a guy!"  
  
He rose to his feet, "Okay, then! If she won't ACT like a   
girl, I should just treat her like she WASN'T! Let's see   
how much she likes being a guy, when she has to take the   
lumps that go with it!"  
  
Holding onto that thought firmly in his mind, he strode   
out of the Tendou family room (and away from his   
homework).  
  
Ranma-kun almost bumped into his pop just outside in the   
hallway. The Old Man smiled at his son, "I KNEW you would   
finally come to your senses, boy! After all, you DON'T   
want to give others the impression you have a   
relationship with guy, now do you!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Before Genma Saotome could react fast enough, he found   
himself flying. Or Genma wished he could fly: Ranma had   
thrown him towards the Tendou's koi pond again.   
  
Splash!   
  
Ranma screamed at the dumb black-and-white creature,   
"Thanks for reminding me why I CAN'T treat her as a guy!!   
It's bad enough bein' stuck to a girl who wants to be the   
guy! Treatin' her like one would be like admittin' I WAS   
in a relationship with a guy!!"  
  
The panda growled in frustration, too. It could do   
nothing but watch its son stomp away.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Meanwhile, Kaneda was in his kempo-gi in the family dojo.   
Something was happening that hadn't happened much since   
he'd started getting boobs and a figure: His dad was   
working out with him.   
  
His dad said during the sparing, "...I'm just asking you   
to meet Akane, Kaneda." He had thrown a blow aimed at   
Kaneda's stomach.  
  
Kaneda was NOT happy that Akane was the reason his dad   
was practicing with him, "I don't think you'll ever see   
us together." Kaneda tried to knock his dad's legs out   
from under him.  
  
Soun Tendou protested, "Don't be like that, Kaneda! I'm   
asking you as my son. It's your filial duty to just get   
to know her! I am SURE you have things in common." He was   
giving Kaneda a series of left/right karate fist jabs.  
  
Kaneda said, "Oh! I've no doubt about that. But you know   
what they say, Dad, "Opposites attract, sames repel".   
There is nobody more "same" than Akane and me." Kaneda   
had gone on the offense with some chops.  
  
Soun Tendou cried in frustration, "How do you KNOW that   
until you meet her!" He drove the heel his hand for his   
son's forehead.  
  
Kaneda screamed, "I KNOW!! The same way I know RANMA'S   
the girl for me!!" Kaneda kicked for his dad's gut.  
  
Soun Tendou raised his voice, "But Ranma's really a young   
man!!" He grabbed Kaneda's leg.  
  
Kaneda yanked his leg free, "And YOU'RE the expert on   
who's a guy!!?" He spun around--His instep hit the man   
squarely in the side of the face.  
  
Soun Tendou went rigid and fell. Then he just lay there   
like a statue that had toppled over, still in its pose.  
  
Kaneda realized what he'd done: "Oh, no! Dad, I'm   
sorry!!" But his dad wasn't in any condition to forgive   
him. Kaneda called, "Kasumi!! Kasumi!! Come quick!!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kaneda had lifted his dad and was carrying him into the   
house when Kasumi finally heard her little brother.   
"Kaneda! I don't think it's a good idea to move an   
injured person."  
  
Kaneda told her, "You're not supposed to hit a person   
across the face until they wake up, either, but that's   
what the Anything-Goes School teaches, too."  
  
Kasumi gave up, "Fine! Take Father into the living room,   
and I'll get a cushion and blanket for Father."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
After Kaneda had returned from the kitchen with an ice   
pack, Kasumi had done all the first aid she could do for   
their father. Kaneda was glad to see that his dad was at   
least showing signs that he was just asleep.  
  
The two children of Soun Tendou knelt on the mat floor   
beside him, waiting until he could tell them how hurt he   
was.   
  
Kasumi turned around to confront Kaneda. She clasped his   
hand between hers and brought it up. Kaneda asked,   
"What?"  
  
Kasumi gave her a steady look into his eyes. She spoke   
with a seriousness Kaneda was not used to hearing from   
his Oneesan. "Kaneda, I want you to listen to me as if I   
were our poor, dear, departed mother, alright?"   
  
Kaneda gasped, "Hunh!??!" This was an occasion of utmost   
seriousness. Kasumi did not ask them to identify her with   
mom lightly, even though that was what THEY all did.   
  
Kasumi told her, "Listen, Kaneda, I want you to promise   
me you'll never strike somebody in anger again."  
  
Kaneda just stared at Oneesan. What could he say?!  
  
Kasumi demanded an answer, "Kaneda?"  
  
Kaneda answered, "Yeah, but...."  
  
Kasumi let go of his hand, and became even more serious,   
"Promise, Kaneda!" She was even frowning!  
  
Kaneda surrendered, "Okay." He looked away. He saw the   
open eyes of their father. For all his resentment of the   
way Dad had treated him, he did not hate him. Kaneda did   
love him as much as a son could love a father.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Kane-chan protested, "But shopping is for girls!"  
  
Kasumi told her, "That's why you're a girl, now. Besides   
not embarrassing you, it won't bring attention to you."  
  
Kane-chan said sourly, "Except that I'll be a girl nobody   
knows."  
  
Kasumi said, "Oh, they are a few that remember the   
mystery girl of the neighborhood. If anybody asks, you   
just tell them you're name is Akane Saotome."   
  
'Akane' asked, "And if they ASK why I never introduced   
myself in 16 years?"  
  
Kasumi said, "Oh, my. Well, if you can't think of a   
reason, we'll just have to ask Nabiki for one. I'm not   
very good at coming up with stories."  
  
Kane-chan said, "Never mind! She's the reason there is an   
'Akane' and there ISN'T a mystery girl, any more."  
  
As Kane-chan went out the front door, Oneesan called out,   
"Remember, bring me back some ground pork and white   
onions, alright?"   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
It was a beautiful sunset out. But Kane-chan wasn't   
enjoying it. She was back in the pink jumper and white   
blouse. (And lingerie. Akane had a hard time ever   
forgetting when she was wearing panties and a bra.) Is   
Kasumi trying to punish me for what I did to Dad? She   
shook her head. No, that's not like her. It's probably   
her idea of getting me to be a girl more. She couldn't   
get angry at her Oneesan, so she became grumpy, So when   
is it going to be RANMA'S turn at being a girled-up   
girl!?! This is NOT playing fair! When is SHE going to be   
the tortoise!?!   
  
She realized she WAS feeling out of sorts. She hoped it   
was JUST everything that had happened to her the past   
five days catching up with her. "But I promised Kasumi I   
would try and control my emotions."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Kane-chan's dad and the panda were sitting cross-legged   
on the garden hall. They weren't enjoying the beautiful   
sunset, either. Soun said, "We've got to think of   
something. My son, Kaneda, stubbornly refuses to see that   
your Ranma is not really a girl. But, then, so apparently   
does Akane." He shook THAT thought about the girl he   
wanted to be his daughter-in-law out of his head. He had   
to think constructively, "If we can just get Kaneda and   
Akane to think of each other, and not Ranma, our problems   
would be solved."  
  
The panda nodded, "Mmrr-hmmr." Soun did not want to know   
the truth about Kaneda and Akane, but together, they   
MIGHT come up with a solution. And getting Kaneda more   
concerned about 'Akane' than Ranma seemed a good start.   
  
Kasumi came down the hall with the teakettle, "Father,   
here's the hot water."  
  
As Soun poured the water on the panda, he said, "We have   
to do something."  
  
Genma nodded, "Hmm, you're right! We have to do   
something."   
  
And the something they did at the moment was sit with   
their arms crossed, trying to come up with a plan of   
attack.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kane-chan was on the bridge over the river now. Ranma had   
already become associated in her head with the fence.   
Girl or guy, Ranma could walk the narrow railing as   
casually as if it were the ground.   
  
{The Ranma-kun-of-memory had said, "Just remember we're   
strangers. I don't want you hangin' around me at school,   
you understand?  
  
{Kaneda-of-memory had said, "The whole school's going to   
know you're living with me."  
  
{Ranma-kun had cried, "Stop sayin' things like that, even   
as a girl!"  
  
{Kaneda had continued anyway, "You know we're in no   
position to choose who we're going to marry."}  
  
Kane-chan bowed her head, Are we cursed in more than   
just our bodies? I was hoping two curses together would   
cancel them out. Since we both don't want to be freaks,   
we could HELP each other be normal.  
  
Ranma-kun said, "Stupid girl."  
  
Kane-chan looked up at the real Ranma-kun on the fence   
going in the opposite direction. She reacted as if he had   
heard what she had only been thinking. "I'm not stupid,   
and I'm not...going to get angry! " She almost told him   
she wasn't a girl. That was the one advantage she had   
over Ranma in a fair fight. It was Ranma's weak spot. She   
fought back her pride as a man with Remember, this is   
the School of ANYTHING-Goes. Winning is what's   
important!  
  
Ranma-kun hadn't been following her; had SHE come after   
him? He challenged, "So: Where'd you come from?"  
  
Kane-chan answered, "You tell me!"  
  
Ranma answered back, "HNH!"  
  
Kane-chan responded, "HHNH!" and continued the way she'd   
been going. There was something about this guy that   
really bugged her! Maybe it WAS because he was a guy,   
now, not a girl. That nearly made him a different person   
from the girl she had a crush on.  
  
Right now, Ranma HAD the girl that pushed just about all   
of his buttons but sexual walking away from him. "Keep   
followin' me around, and maybe some of my cuteness will   
rub off on you. Then I MIGHT begin to take this   
engagement thing seriously."   
  
Kane-chan leaped up onto the fence railing. It took more   
effort than it took Ranma to stay balanced; but she was   
NOT about to fall into the river in front of this jerk:   
"Ranma, if you don't shut your mouth right now, I'll--"   
She stopped herself. "Oh?!"  
  
She lowered her fist, slowly. Letting it go to her hip,   
she tried exhaling her anger. "Hnh!" She then told   
herself as much as Ranma, "I promised my sister Kasumi   
that I'd NEVER hit anybody in anger again."  
  
Ranma-kun didn't buy that, "Hunh!" He jumped down to the   
bridge's pavement. Now it was HIS turn to walk away.  
  
But that wasn't victory enough for Ranma. After a few   
paces, he stopped to look over his shoulder. He smirked,   
"NOW you're startin' to think like a girl. You just need   
to start actin' like one. Ha! Even a tomboy'd be a major   
improvement. Right now you're just plain butch." By the   
luck of destiny, Ranma had met very few female martial   
artists. None of them were HIS idea of what a girl should   
be. (And ONE in particular.)  
  
As he walked away for real this time, Kane-chan growled,   
"Did he just...Hrrrnh! I can't believe he said that! My   
MOTHER was a--" She nodded, "Mm, Hm!" and jumped down off   
the railing.  
  
Kane-chan cried, "Wait a minute!!"  
  
Ranma-kun turned, "Hn? Wha--?!"  
  
Kane-chan was running full force at him, "Who are YOU to   
be calling anybody butch!? What's the OTHER words that   
go with that one, you stupid pervert!!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kane-chan beat Ranma-kun up pretty badly. So badly, she   
had to drag the larger, heavier teen draped over her   
shoulder. She ended up aggravating the damage even more.   
  
Dr. Tofu's clinic was only a block away, but she had to   
lay the guy down when she got inside the gate. While she   
was catching her breath, her eyes fell on the garden   
hose.  
  
Kane-chan said to herself, "That's right, Dr. Tofu   
doesn't know that Ranma changes, too."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
The mangled Ranma-chan was laid more gently on the clinic   
bed than her male counterpart would have been. The wet,   
chilled girl still hurt.   
  
Dr. Tofu studied the injured teen; "Hmmm.... This is   
dreadful: The bruises! The severe dislocation of the   
joints!" He looked at Kane-chan and asked, "WHO did this   
to her?"  
  
Kane-chan had remained in her girl-form BECAUSE she was   
afraid of what her coach would think if he thought   
Kaneda-KUN had beat up a girl. Still, the reaction of the   
man Kane-chan respected most seemed harsh to her, "Well,   
I, uh...."  
  
An awkward silence followed.   
  
It was filled by the snap, crackle, pop of Ranma-chan   
trying, and failing, to sit up in bed. "Rnh! Rn!   
Rernhunh!" She managed to get out, "S, s, stupid, gir,   
girl did this...to me! Re, real butch, type!"  
  
Ranma-chan suddenly fell head first out of the bed when   
Kane-chan jerked the foot of the bed up: "What did I tell   
you about calling the pan black!?!"   
  
Dr. Tofu looked at Kane-chan for the moment it took for   
it to sink in. "You did this, "Shinpiko"?" The family   
doctor purposely used the nickname he used to protect   
Kaneda's secret.   
  
Feeling guilty, feeling the loss of respect from the good   
doctor, Kane-chan dropped the bed end. She took a step   
back; "Um...well, she...."  
  
Upside down, and looking even more like a pretzel, now,   
Ranma-chan looked up from the floor at Kane-chan, Hnh!   
"Shinpiko": "Mystery Kid"! The only "mystery" is how she   
thinks a butch-type like her can pull off the "Sweet-and-  
Innocent" act!  
  
Dr, Tofu slapped his thigh, "Ah, ha! I knew it! I knew   
that damage looked kind of unique!" And he laughed long   
and hard.  
  
Kane-chan stared at his reaction. Is he, trying to make   
me FEEL better?  
  
Ranma-chan wasn't feeling better, Oh, "Ha, Ha"! Yuck it   
up, why don'chya!  
  
The man picked the small Ranma-chan up and sat her on top   
of the bed, "Up you go!" He then demonstrated his   
expertise, "Look at the way this joint is twisted   
backwards: That's Shinpiko's touch, no doubt" To Ranma-  
chan's screams, he then shoved on Ranma-chan's shoulder   
while pulling her arm straight out. And the fiend   
laughed!  
  
The man then pushed the redhead's D cup chest down onto   
the bed, where he proceeded to jab and grapple her,   
"You're Ranma Saotome, right? I'm generally pretty good   
with names. We met last Thursday." Ranma-chan was in too   
much pain to answer with anything but noises. The man   
said, "You're staying with the Tendous, I hear. I take it   
you've MET Shinpiko." He laughed at that last one.  
  
"Shinpiko" had to say, "Ranma knows my secret, Dr. Tofu."  
  
The Doctor said smiling from the full Nelson he had   
Ranma-chan in, "Then the Neighborhood Grapevine is true!   
Not that I pay too close attention to rumors. But I WAS   
afraid I'd have to tie a knot in that one, too. You know,   
to protect "Shinpiko"."  
  
"Shinpiko" wasn't ready to tell him that she had a name   
now; that might lead to...OTHER questions. Dr. Tofu HAS   
to know about Akane and Kei, by now. He's just too polite   
to ask a question somebody's not ready to tell. "Yes,   
Ranma's dad and my dad are old friends, and arranged   
things. Kasumi didn't tell you any of this?"   
  
Snapping Ranma-chan's neck, Dr. Tofu answered, "Kasumi?   
Why no, I don't remember her saying anything." He laughed   
half-dreamily, "I hardly remember anything Kasumi says to   
me."   
  
"Shinpiko" thought: Oh, no!! I hope I didn't make a   
mistake by bringing Kasumi up while the doctor's   
working!  
  
Ranma-chan at last got free from the man's evil clutches.   
She yelled in the man's face: "That HURT, you know!!"  
  
The Doctor put his face closer, "It does? Tell me where   
it hurts."  
  
Ranma-chan felt her shoulder, her side...just about every   
part of her torso but her boobs'. "Hunh? Hmmh? --Hey!!   
It's okay now! I'm cured! Even the stupid, invisible   
corset is gone!"  
  
The Doctor asked, "You wanted it removed, didn't you? I   
could put it back for you."  
  
Ranma-chan held up her hands, "No!! I don't EVER want to   
wear a corset again!" Then she turned a smug eye to Kane-  
chan, "So much for winnin' a contest over me!"  
  
Dr. Tofu rose to his feet, "Oh? Shinpiko, YOU'RE the   
reason for the corset?"  
  
Kane-chan told him, "I WON the contest fair and square!   
The goddess Benten was the referee!" To Ranma-chan, she   
told, "Just because you don't HAVE it on you any more,   
DOESN'T mean I didn't win!"  
  
Dr. Tofu thought he understood, "I see. You've been to   
the Temple of the Nine Abilities, then?"  
  
Kane-chan told him, "It was to get a blessing for the   
engagement."  
  
Ranma-chan told Kane-chan, "And there IS no blessing,   
'cause I refuse to admit I was beaten!! I'll drop you in   
a second, the second I'm convinced Kasumi or somebody   
else is the right one for me!"  
  
Dr. Tofu said, "Kasumi's involved in this!?!"   
  
Kane-chan slapped her forehead. The cats were out of the   
bag: Both of them!  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Nabiki held her jaw with in one hand, its elbow on the   
family table, "And what is this?"   
  
Kasumi was kneeling on the other side, her elbows on the   
table, her chin on the backs of her hands, "It's boiled   
potatoes, Nabiki."  
  
Nabiki said, "I thought we were going to have MEAT and   
potatoes tonight, Kasumi."  
  
Kasumi informed her, "I thought so, too. But the person I   
asked to by the meat and onions hasn't come back from the   
market, yet."  
  
Nabiki said, "That's how you got them out of the house?   
You should know better than to send boy-brains to do the   
shopping."  
  
The phone rang.  
  
Kasumi got up to answer it. On the way she said, "Mr.   
Saotome, Father, it looks like it's supper time, after   
all."  
  
Her father asked his Old Comrade, "Have you thought of   
anything? Anything, at all?"  
  
Genma Saotome answered, "Not yet. What about you?"  
  
Soun Tendou set the teakettle in his lap aside. He picked   
up a pail, and threw the water. "Well!?! What about now?!   
Any ideas?"  
  
The panda reacted angrily, "Bwaorrr!!" taking a swipe at   
the overly handsome man with its claws.  
  
The man confident in his own looks chuckled, "Heh, Hey,   
calm down! I just thought being a panda might help you   
concentrate, that's all!" His laugh was forced.  
  
And the panda did NOT see the joke.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kane-chan bowed as she left the clinic, "Good night!" The   
Doctor WAS her coach, as well as a trusted friend of the   
family. He had earned her respect many times over.  
  
Dr. Tofu said, "Good night, "Shinpiko"!"  
  
As Ranma-chan was leaving, Dr. Tofu said to her, "Uh,   
Ranma! Just a moment!" Ranma-chan stopped out on the one   
step porch. Dr. Tofu said to her, "I AM a man who lives   
his life by the Hippocratic Oath of "Do no harm". If it   
is for the best, you are free to marry whomever will   
accept your proposal." A might too hard, the good doctor   
pushed Ranma-chan in the back and on his way.  
  
As Ranma-chan stood on the walkway, still looking back at   
the man, Dr. Tofu said, "I shall pay a visit the temple.   
In the meantime, why don't you just try getting to know   
Shinpiko. Kaneda's really a very considerate and friendly   
person."  
  
Ranma-chan told the stranger, "If you think THAT, you   
don't know her as well as you--"   
  
Suddenly Ranma-chan got a big grimace that showed all of   
her teeth. She put her hands around on her lumbar region   
of her back as her waist and belly became pinched, "The   
damn corset is back!!!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Kasumi entered the family room again. Nabiki had gotten   
tired of waiting for the Elders, and had started on one   
of the small, boiled potatoes. "Nabiki, that was a young   
man named Ozu. He asked me to give you a message. It's   
just one word: "Checkmate"?"  
  
Nabiki got a big wide grin on her face, "And just in time   
for school tomorrow!" She glanced at the Two Fathers, and   
said in a lowered voice, "Kasumi, do you know what   
"checkmate" can mean in English?" She chuckled, "Ranma   
will NEVER be our fiance."  
  
  
The End of this chapter 


	13. 13: Tomobiki the 13th

Ranma & Kaneda  
By Ron Dow75  
  
13: Tomobiki the 13th  
  
  
In the six-day Buddhist week Tomobiki can be a very bad   
luck day. The only thing that could have made THIS day   
any unluckier was if it were FRIDAY the 13th on the   
International calendar.  
  
  
Morning, Monday the 13th. Ranma-kun's only alarm clock   
was internal. It was set to get him up before dawn to   
begin the day with a round of sparring with his old man.   
  
Waking was the time to remember dreams:  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Sunday evening. Ranma-chan slowly came to. It took a   
while for her to be aware what was happening. Ranma had a   
keenly trained sense of body, but it seemed dull when he   
was a girl. Pop told him it was all in his head. Change   
the gender of the pronouns, and that was something the   
Old Man COULD be right about. If a martial artist didn't   
live or die by their body--a point Pop had made sure she   
got by constantly challenging her to a fight at every   
turn on their long trip back from China--Ranma would've   
put even more distance between him and it than she had.   
  
It felt like her legs and arms were wrapped around   
something. She was reminded of the time she had spent the   
night up a power pole in one of Pop's stupid training   
exercises.   
  
--Cats!! The word clawed at her throat. Had the stupid   
Old Man had sprinkled fish oil all around a greased pole   
again!?!!  
  
Ranma-chan tried to get awake and get away: "Aaar!!" But   
found that the pole was soft and warm. And the rungs were   
hands under her thighs.   
  
--But her hands were tied! And she was wearing a corset!!   
Why hadn't she felt any sense of danger!?!   
  
Kane-chan said, "Don't SQUEEZE me like that! If you want   
me to put you down, I will!"   
  
Ranma-chan, aware at last, saw that Kane-chan was giving   
her a piggyback ride. Kane-chan's hands and hips were   
supporting her thighs. Kane-chan had used Ranma-chan's   
own belt to keep her hands around upper chest. She also   
saw that they were headed back towards the Tendou house.   
The streetlights were on, but it didn't look too much   
later than....  
  
Ranma-chan asked, "Wha, what happened? How'd I get here?"   
  
Kane-chan said, "You tell me. My back was turned when you   
attacked Dr. Tofu."  
  
Ranma-chan cried, "That's right!" as she sat up straight.   
Kane-chan let her get off of her.   
  
Ranma-chan immediately fell on her butt. "My muscles are   
TOO relaxed! They won't give me any support!"  
  
Turning around, Kane-chan put her hands on her hips and   
sighed, "I guess I WILL have to carry you the rest of the   
way." The girl who wanted Ranma to be her girlfriend   
didn't seem too happy about the idea.   
  
Ranma-chan asked herself, "What did that acupressurist DO   
to me!?! How can I prepare against him, if--" Suddenly   
she had a flash of memory. The smiling man in the glasses   
had told her to relax; he meant her no harm. Ranma-chan   
wondered, "A hypnotic shiatsu technique??"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
It was Monday, a school day. Ranma-kun got off of his   
futon/mattress wondering if he was still under a post-  
hypnotic spell. He didn't really resent the man who'd put   
the corset back on him. "Since he can take it off of me,   
again, I guess I gotta play his game...for now."   
  
After doing a few stretching exercises, Ranma-kun stopped   
to pull up his undershirt. The invisible corset gave even   
his male body a definite hourglass figure. And the   
exercises only reminded him more that it was there.   
  
Behind and below, his pop asked, "What happened to you,   
boy!?!"  
  
Snarling, Ranma-kun spun around and attacked the man   
still in bed. It felt GOOD not to be relaxed.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
They had carried their fight into the Tendou garden. For   
once, Pop kept his mouth shut. He wasn't interested in   
creating a battle simulation today. Practice was   
different from battle simulation. Practice was to get the   
get the body to do what it was SUPPOSED to do, time after   
time. It was not the time for emotions. Emotions were for   
when you wanted to put serious power into your battle   
aura. Even when Ranma was his most pissed off at his Old   
Man, he couldn't put all that much into it. Pop had   
conditioned Ranma to limit the amount he could use   
against him. Practicing also tamped down his emotions.   
Sparring with the Old Man was such a familiar routine   
when in his own body Ranma-kun's feelings actually eased.  
  
...Or maybe it WAS the post-hypnotic spell.   
  
The eldest daughter came to the open doors of the garden   
hall, "Mr. Saotome! Ranma! Breakfast!"  
  
Mr. Saotome stopped to called back, "Thank you, Kasumi!   
It smells delici--"   
  
They had forgotten they were in mid-air. They had been   
using each other to stay aloft.   
  
Splash! They landed in the koi pond.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
While the panda was on all fours shaking the water from   
its fur, Ranma-chan took off her pants. She squeezed the   
pond water from them as best she could. She kept her   
underpants on, and squeezed them where they were loose.   
She was glad her body sense was dull. She didn't want to   
feel the curves and extra-padding. Her well-trained mind   
used the technique she used to fight-while-injured to put   
even more awareness between her and the body. She   
wouldn't give herself a chance to feel effeminate. And   
she didn't. But it also left herself more open to her   
subconscious. And her subconscious equated this girl-body   
with what it knew of girl bodies. In the irony of the   
human psychology, by denying her girl half, Ranma had   
more of a feminine manner than when she had fought   
against it.  
  
She put her pants back on, and started taking her shirt   
off.  
  
While the panda went to sit at the family table, Ranma   
sat down cross-legged in the garden hall. She took off   
her undershirt and squeezed its water onto the grass.   
There was something about a wet shirt....  
  
That was when Nabiki Tendou came into the family room   
behind Ranma-chan, "You needn't bother putting that back   
on. I brought you your school uniform."  
  
When the panda saw the sky blue jumper and white blouse,   
it spewed out the tea it was drinking.  
  
Ranma-chan remained where she was sitting, unaware of   
which uniform was being offered; "I'm not wearin' any   
uniform. I have to wear Chinese clothes."  
  
Nabiki said, "Why? Did you take some," she indulged   
herself in a little melodrama: " "vow to remain in   
Chinese clothes as long as you have a Chinese curse"?"  
  
Ranma-chan said, "Something like that."  
  
Mr. Tendou came down the hall from his room. He was still   
brushing his teeth, " ' Morning, Ranma. Morning workout,   
hunh?"  
  
Ranma-chan smiled up at him, "Good morning, Mr. Tendou!"   
  
Kaneda, in his school uniform, said, "Good morning,   
Ranma!"  
  
Ranma-chan twisted herself around to say, "Good morning,   
Kane--" Why was she grinning nice and sweetly at him!!?!  
  
Nabiki looked at the effect Ranma-chan's size Ds were   
having on the two menfolk. They stood there like statues,   
just staring. She got in the space between the two guys,   
"Ranma, you have GOT to learn feminine modesty." She then   
draped the Furinkan girls' uniform over Ranma's front.   
  
Kaneda cried, "Oh-oh!.... Did you HAVE to, Nabiki?!"  
  
It took a moment for it to register on Ranma what was   
being used to cover her. "A DRESS!!?!" It was almost a   
dress. Kasume had carefully and artfully used safety pins   
had been used to attach the blouse to the jumper. They   
were hidden out of sight.  
  
Nabiki corrected her, "A uniform. Your uniform."  
  
Ranma-chan snatched off of her, and in one motion had   
pivoted around onto one knee. She THREW it at the smart   
aleck, "That's NOT funny!!"  
  
Nabiki caught it. Smiling smugly she said, "This is no   
joke. As far as the school is concerned, YOU'RE a girl."  
  
Ranma-chan told her, "I don't CARE what others think!"  
  
Nabiki was still smiling as she placed the dress over her   
arm, "Oh, you don't, do you?" She turned for the family   
room, "Kaneda, it is up to you to say the right thing at   
the right time." Then she said cryptically, "It will be   
up to others to see that the right thing to occurs."  
  
Kaneda said, "Hunh?" He was a little distracted by the   
sight of Ranma-chan's again bare boobs.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
At breakfast, Kaneda was still distracted THINKING about   
Ranma-chan's naked boobs.  
  
Ranma-kun was fully dressed in his red shirt and blue   
pants now. He poured his bowl of miso over his bowl of   
rice. He looked at the guy sitting next to him, "If   
you're gonna stare into space like that, I guess you   
won't mind me havin' that dumpling?" Ranma was   
determined to be ignorant; it helped that he was not a   
girl then.   
  
Kaneda looked over at Ranma...and saw a guy's chest. He   
frowned, "No! I wanted that!" Girls traditionally were   
supposed to defer to males; it helped that he was not a   
girl then.  
  
Ranma-kun quirked a smile, "Ha! Too bad!" as she picked   
up her chopsticks.  
  
Kaneda picked up the dish.   
  
Ranma-kun cried, "Hey!"  
  
Kaneda brought it around to the side away from the guy   
that should be a girl, "Ha! You have to learn to think   
about somebody besides yourself!"  
  
Ranma-kun told her, "HA! That's a good one! You're one to   
talk..."   
  
While they fought, the panda reached over with its   
chopsticks and plucked the dumpling away for itself.  
  
Drinking from the bowl, Nabiki said to Kasumi, "The   
soup's a little bland today, don't you think?"  
  
Doing likewise, Kasumi said, "Do you think so?" She then   
noticed on the other side of her, "Father, isn't it time   
you took that toothbrush out?" Except that her father's   
stare wasn't blank, it was as if he was in one of his   
trances again. "I wonder if I pour a glass of water on   
Father, he'll return to us?" Ranma wasn't the only one   
who preferred ignore the obvious.  
  
"Oh, that's right!" Kasumi now talked across the table,   
"Kaneda? Do me a favor and drop by Doctor Tofu's clinic   
on your way home from school."  
  
Ranma-kun almost choked when he heard the Tofu's name.   
  
Kaneda stopped eating, too, as he seriously studied   
Ranma's reactions.  
  
Kasume explained, "I borrowed this book." She picked it   
from beside her cushion. "Will you return it to Doctor   
Tofu for me?"  
  
Ranma-kun said, "Sure, why don'tcha do it?"  
  
Kaneda looked at him intently, "Why? What do you have   
planned?"  
  
Ranma-kun said, "Me? I got nothing planned."  
  
Kaneda said, "Right, "plan" gives you too much credit."   
Still keeping his eye on him, he said, "I'm sorry,   
Kasume. I can't today."  
  
Kasume put the book back, "Oh? I guess I'll have to go   
myself."  
  
Ranma-kun said, "Why don't you go, "Shin-pi-ko"?"   
taunting him with Tofu's alias for her.   
  
Kaneda yanked on his pigtail as he got up from the table,   
"C'mon!! We're going to be late!"  
  
Ranma-kun yelled, "Hey!! Get your hands off of me! And I   
haven't finished eatin' yet!!"  
  
Kaneda growled, "Grrr!" He knew Ranma would only be MORE   
stubborn with a guy.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kane-chan returned from the kitchen, "Ranma! What do you   
say we BOTH go to school dressed alike!" She couldn't   
bring herself to giggle.   
  
Ranma-kun saw the crazy girl in her Furinkan blue jumper   
holding out with one hand the one Nabiki had tried to get   
Ranma to wear. The other hand held a squeeze water   
bottle! Ranma-kun cried, "Aaa! Stay away from me!!"  
  
Kane-chan stalked him, "You're not afraid of some   
ordinary pieces of cotton, are you?" She made the hem   
move back-and-forth, "Look how modest it is. It's not   
like it's a mini, or anything revealing."  
  
Ranma scrambled away from the table. "I'm a guy! You   
can't make me wear a dress!"  
  
Kane-chan's squirt of water was her answer to Ranma being   
a guy or not. She then smiled wickedly at him, "If I pin   
and unpin your arms with my "Clinging-to-a-Statue", I   
wonder how if I CAN make you--"  
  
Ranma-kun told her, "I'm not gonna give you the chance to   
find out!" and was off for the front door, followed by   
Kane-chan.  
  
Nabiki told Kasume, "They've finally left. Now *I* can go   
and change."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Ranma's pride wouldn't let him look TOO scared by a girl.   
He stayed close enough to give her a chase. He laughed,   
"I'm gonna go to school as a GUY today!"   
  
Kane-chan had the dress over an arm, and held out the   
squeeze bottle out in front of her, "And how are you   
going to do THAT!? Ranma Saotome is registered as a girl!   
And KEI Tendou isn't registered at all!!"  
  
Ranma-kun forced himself to sound light, "Maybe TODAY is   
the day I'll let people know Ranma Saotome IS a man!"   
  
Kane-chan was just close enough to squeeze the bottle,   
"You think you're MAN enough to tell everybody you're a   
GIRL!!?!" The wind blew the squirt back onto Kaneda.  
  
Ranma-kun looked over his shoulder and gloated at the guy   
in the boys' uniform, "Just 'cause YOU'RE not, doesn't   
mean I--"  
  
Splash! The old woman with the ladle got Ranma.   
  
Kaneda picked up his speed to catch Ranma-chan before   
she'd had a chance to recover. When her wrist was within   
reach, "You see!? Mrs. Tanaka's praying to the water   
gods, and THEY want you to be a girl!"   
  
He just missed grabbing flesh and bone. Stepping out of   
his reach, Ranma-chan confronted him, "And they're all   
WET!! Let them stick to makin' mold! What do THEY know   
about girls!?"   
  
Kaneda said, "I guess you don't know about bloating,   
yet!" Stupid! Like THAT'S going to have her want to be a   
girl!   
  
Kaneda knew he had to time this just right he probably   
wouldn't get another shot at it. "Look! I wear a dress   
when I'M a girl. You're just a coward!"  
  
Ranma-chan cried, "A coward!!?!" She stepped forward to   
challenge him using that name.  
  
Taking the hem with his hands a meter apart, Kaneda   
flipped jumper up. Expecting a standard attack, Ranma-  
chan saw too late the blue jumper's skirt bell over her   
like a bag. Kaneda then yanked it down, trapping Ranma-  
chan's arms inside the jumper's waist and pinned blouse   
itself. "I TOLD you the Tendou School used tools!"  
  
Grabbing onto the outside of the skirt, Kaneda yelled,   
"Here's your chance to prove how good the Saotome School   
is--" He ran, pulling Ranma-chan by the skirt, "--at   
footwork!"   
  
DESPITE the extra training the Saotomes gave to lower   
body control and improvisation, Ranma-chan was forced   
again to deal with short legs. Even though her head was   
completely covered up, the guy with the longer legs   
didn't let up his speed. Ranma-chan had to take large,   
bounding steps; on just about every other one she thought   
she would trip or twist her ankle, maybe even break a   
leg. But her opponent gave her no mercy: On he made her   
run! He knew better than to give her the chance to   
recover!  
  
Ranma's yells were muffled, "No good cheater! Whoever   
heard of martial arts DRESS-fittin'!! Let me out! Let go   
of me! Just give me a chance to kick your butt! I'll   
alter YOU to fit into it!!..."  
  
Swearing all the way, Ranma-chan tried to bust the   
clothes at the seams. But Kaneda had thought of how to   
deal with that, too: He pulled and swung her this way and   
that in an erratic pattern. It took most of Ranma-chan's   
concentration just to stay on her feet. Whenever she   
thought she had enough balance to use her strength to   
break free, she lost it on a zig that should have been a   
zag! The distraction of the stupid invisible corset didn't   
help! The best she could do was use the pressure Kaneda   
exerted holding onto the jumper to work her head up   
towards the neck hole of the blouse.  
  
The first sight Ranma-chan saw was their going through   
the school's main gate! "Oh, no!! I'm not goin' to school   
like this!!" Now that she could see, she COULD use a   
Saotome technique: She dug in her heels.  
  
But Kaneda had momentum and weight on HIS side: He swung   
her around until her back was up against a school wall.   
  
AS they BOTH gathered their breaths, martial arts style,   
Kaneda told her, "You're right! You can't go to school in   
pants!" It did look stupid to wear baggy pants under a   
skirt, even if it was a midi.   
  
Ranma-chan told him, "You keep your hands off of my   
pants!!" She kicked out at him. He stayed just out of the   
reach of her slippers. The straps of the jumper fell off   
her shoulders.  
  
Kaneda then lunged, and used the skirt itself to help pin   
Ranma-chan's legs.   
  
Meanwhile Ranma-chan had moved her hands up past the   
jumper's waist and INTO the blouse. Her arms up against   
it and her red shirted boobs, she started unbuttoning   
from the inside. "There's NO way I'm gonna wear this!"  
  
Kaneda, to keep the skirt tight against the wall,   
replaced his hands with his knees, pressing his lower   
body against her. He then started unbuttoning Ranma-  
chan's red Chinese shirt she was revealing under the   
blouse. "You WILL, if you have nothing ELSE to wear!"  
  
At the sight of Ranma's large, exposed breasts, Kaneda   
got a nosebleed! This on top of what had happened this   
morning had caused too much pressure to build up.  
  
Realizing what he'd done, Kaneda tilted his head back as   
he reached for a handkerchief. "I'm sorry!" he told   
Ranma-chan, turning away.  
  
That was when Kaneda saw the horde of athlete-types all   
suited up to attack him again.   
  
But there weren't attacking. They were staring.  
  
Ranma-chan yelled, "Back off, you jerks! What are you   
lookin' at!?" She responded like a guy, still not making   
the connection that it wasn't HIS bare chest they were   
seeing.  
  
Kaneda raised his hands, challenging, "OK, who's   
first!?!"  
  
Tears started flowing down their faces. Most of them   
could be HEARD moaning and sobbing. A wrestler in   
particular clenched a fist and raised his lower lip as   
high as he could, "What a time to not even TRY to win   
what is Kaneda's!"  
  
The rugby player said, "We have accepted our defeat."  
  
A dancer told them, "We had a meeting, and we've decided   
to choke back our pride and recognize you as the   
school's--"   
  
A Greco-Roman wrestler added, "--the TOWN'S best   
athlete!"  
  
A boxer said, "Oh!? What about KEI Tendou?"   
  
A baseball catcher bawled, "We can't defeat you, Kaneda,   
let alone somebody from out of town!" And hid his face in   
the crook of his arm.   
  
They all lowered their heads into their hands and wept   
loud and deeply as they lost face.  
  
Ranma-chan asked, "Talk about pathetic." Used to   
competing for real, she had little sympathy for those   
raised on the Japanese mythos in sports mangas and anime,   
and what they were going through.   
  
Kaneda turned around to tell Ranma-chan sports WAS like   
being a warrior-- When he was reminded of her large,   
naked breasts again!  
  
Squeezing his nose, Kaneda told her, "Get back into you   
uniform! You don't want OTHERS to see you like that!!" He   
was suddenly possessive.  
  
Ranma-chan looked past her bare boobs, and said, "No   
absolutely way do I want that!!" She brought her arms out   
of the blouse and lifted the skirt over her head. In   
practically one motion she had shed the girls' uniform.   
  
Kaneda picked up the uniform and shook it at her; "I'm   
going to see you in this, yet!!"  
  
A sumo wrestler heard this, "What kind of guy would   
rather see that than naked chichis?"   
  
While Ranma-chan buttoned her Chinese shirt, Kaneda,   
directed his scowl at his rivals, "Okay, you all give up.   
What brought this on all of a sudden, hunh!?! SO Kei   
Tendou beat you! I've done that, too."  
  
A voice full of samurai superiority informed him,   
"Because, KANEDA Tendou, this is BEYOND their petty   
concerns: A base, falsehood claims that, rascally knave,   
Kei Tendou, has bested ME in combat." Even Kaneda was   
startled to see the President of the kendo club wrapped   
from head to toe. Only his hair and an opening for his   
eyes remained unbandaged.   
"Lord Kuno will NEVER admit defeat!" The statement was   
also a determined vow.   
  
He stifled a sob, and dropped to his knees, propped up   
only by his wooden sword.   
  
One of the kendo club members said, "Kuno was Furinkan   
High's greatest champion."  
  
Another member said, "He was also its greatest pervert."  
  
Kuno lifted his head, "Who are you calling a pervert!?!"  
  
Ranma-chan said, "That's because they don't know what a   
real pervert is," looking at Kaneda.  
  
The dancer said, "I agree. Kuno DID try to warn us about   
Kaneda."  
  
The sumo wrestler said, "Kaneda's more interested in   
dresses than naked chichis."  
  
Ranma-chan said, "You got that right."  
  
Kaneda tossed the uniform away and snapped into the   
stance, challenging the jocks. But his "HEY!!" was   
directed over his shoulder at Ranma-chan.   
  
A rugby player said, "Don't get us wrong, Kaneda. You're   
an okay enough guy, I guess. You leave us alone when   
we're not picking on you."  
  
A tackle asked, "But please leave our girlfriends alone."  
  
The boxer said, "And pass the message along to your   
cousin, Kei, too! We don't want to have to fight him   
again."  
  
Kuno picked up his sacred vow again, "I shall NEVER admit   
defeat! Whether that cretinous Kei Tendou kicks me one   
hundred times or two hundred times, it matters not to   
Tatewaki Kuno." And he pulled the bandages away from his   
face.  
  
Nasty black-and-blue footprints went across the skin   
around his mouth and eyes.   
  
The Horde of Jocks exclaimed, "Oh-whoa-oh!...."  
  
Ranma-chan ran over to confront the stuck-up jerk, "What   
are you callin' cretinous!?! Admit it: I beat you fair   
and square!" She thought the bandages were just some   
stupid mind game the idiot was playing.  
  
Kaneda came up to warn her, "Hey, wait a minute!"  
  
Kuno rose to his feet and walked over to Ranma-chan with   
as much dignity as his condition allowed, "Pigtailed   
goddess, it is no other."  
  
When his hand clasped hers, Ranma-chan cried, "Hey, you   
creep!"  
  
Kaneda cried, "Oh, boy!"  
  
Kuno stared into Ranma-chan's big, blue eyes; "That   
honeyed voice."  
  
Ranma-chan told him, "Don't forget Akane! SHE showed you   
her boobs on purpose!"  
  
Kaneda HAD to step in, "Kuno! Leave Ranma alone! She's   
MINE!"  
  
One of the jocks behind them said, "It's about time   
Kaneda acted like a fiance."  
  
Ranma-chan told Kaneda, "YOU stay outa this!"  
  
Somebody in the crowd said, "Did you hear that?!"  
  
He was answered with, "I guess she KNOWS how big of a   
pervert Kaneda is."  
  
A third said, "Well: Da! He stripped her in front of us!"  
  
Kaneda screamed, "I did NOT strip her!!"  
  
A kendo club member asked, "A lady's honor is at stake.   
Are you sure we're going to stay out of this?"  
  
Kuno cried, "You vile defiler of women!! You shall be the   
first Tendou to fall!!"  
  
Ranma-chan yelled, "Hey: This is MY fight!" And she   
kicked Kuno across the, until now, unbruised nose.  
  
Kuno landed meters away on his back. He lay still and   
unconscious.  
  
The dancer said, "Defending a lady's honor isn't what it   
used to be."  
  
A football play asked a question that seemed self-  
evident, "Are we men going to stay OUT of it!?!"  
  
There was a near universal, "Unh, hunh!"   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kaneda went to get Ranma's schoolgirl uniform.   
  
But Ranma-chan gave him a good-bye wave, "I'm off to   
change!" She jumped on top of the heads of the jocks and   
took off on them.  
  
A boxer asked, "Oh, she IS going to wear something else?"  
  
The dancer said, "If YOU were a girl, would you trust   
anything a Tendou wanted you in?" Kaneda's reputation had   
started to shift from a loser pervert to possibly being   
winner pervert. Jealousy was mixed in with disgust. What   
could tip it the other way?  
  
Blushing, Kaneda hid the dress behind his back as he   
waded into the crowd looking to follow Ranma-chan.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Entering Furinkan's main building, Kaneda held his water   
bottle out as if were a lone soldier searching for his   
target. He muttered to himself, "I better get to Ranma   
quick."  
  
The lobby was much more crowded than usual; and people   
were coming down the stairs, not up. "But everybody's   
supposed to be going UP to their classes." There was also   
something odd about a scattered number of them, but   
Kaneda was too confused to put his finger on it right   
away.  
  
Nabiki was waiting for him. She took his elbow, and   
directed him to, "Follow the flow, for once, little   
brother. We have assembly today."  
  
Kaneda looked at her, "Assembly?? At Furinkan? Other   
schools might have Monday Morning Assemblies, but--" Then   
he noticed WHAT his sister was wearing: "Why are you   
dressed like that??!"   
  
Nabiki pulled at her blue slacks and gold shirt (with a   
red necktie, no less) as if she were modeling them, "What   
do you think of the new dress code? I've called in a few   
favors, and passed the word among the girls." Kaneda   
looked back at the students headed for the Assembly Hall.   
That was what was different. There weren't many, but   
there WERE some girls, even boyfriends, in the kind of   
clothes they wore away from school, dresses, blouses,   
skirts, pants, and shirts. A few even wore noticeable   
makeup.   
  
Nabiki said, pleased with herself, "A new day has come to   
Furinkan. It cost enough, but--" She looked away from him   
as she noticed, "Ah! Here come your friends."  
  
Kaneda saw that Hiroshi and Daisuke were coming down the   
stairs. And they saw Nabiki, and him, "Hello!" Hiroshi   
smiled at Nabiki, "That's a nice outfit."  
  
Daisuke agreed, "It shows off your figure better than the   
school's uniform, at least."   
  
Nabiki smiled back as if she were flattered, "How sweet."  
  
Kaneda said, "Hello, Hiroshi, Daisuke."  
  
It was then Hiroshi really noticed him...and the girls'   
dress he was carrying, "Is that uniform for your sister?   
Something happen to her other one?"  
  
Daisuke asked, disappointed with the obvious, "Is that   
the ONLY reason she's in her civies?"  
  
Kaneda told them, "No, this is Ranma's uniform."  
  
Hiroshi asked, "She's running around without her   
uniform!?!"  
  
Daisuke frowned, "Only in our fantasies."  
  
Nabiki waved, "Ciao! I'm off to spread the word about the   
new dress code!"  
  
Before she disappeared into the crowd, Kaneda called out,   
"What's happening?! What did you do, Nabiki!?!!"  
  
She told him, "I followed the Yellow Brick Road, and saw   
the Wizard of Ozu!" And just as he lost sight of her, she   
added, "A ninja computer wizard!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
As Kaneda and his friends headed towards the Assembly   
Hall with the rest of the jostling crowd, he asked, "What   
do you know about what's going on?!"  
  
Daisuke said, "Your sister is responsible, and she didn't   
tell you anything? Close family."  
  
Hiroshi said, "Give Kaneda a break; you know what his   
sister's like. It keeps him from being charged with   
anything." Then he said to the little brother, "Rumor has   
it that they did a computer search, and brought somebody   
in to replace Mr. Touno. He was out of here as soon as he   
got the forms."  
  
Kaneda had to ask, "Who's Mr. Touno?"  
  
Hiroshi told him, "Touno was the acting headmaster for   
Furinkan!"  
  
Daisuke said, "It's no wonder you didn't know who he was.   
He kept to himself."  
  
Hiroshi said, "Yeah! They say he took the samurai Spartan   
thing mucho seriously."  
  
Daisuke nodded, "He would ALWAYS walk around without   
shoes, even in winter. He would hit a rock with his sword   
over and over in the same spot until he broke it. He   
would stand under EVERY waterfall he came to for   
hours..."  
  
Hiroshi agreed, "A real masochist."  
  
Kaneda said, "It sounds like we were lucky he didn't make   
US do those kinds of things."  
  
Daisuke said, "Then he'd have been a sadist, as well."  
  
Hiroshi said in lowered voice, looking around, "They SAY   
Touno's the reason there are so many jocks running loose   
around here. He wanted Furinkan to turn out warriors."  
  
Daisuke said, "And he looked for ways to ACT like   
warriors."  
  
Kaneda stopped, "Are, are you saying THAT'S why I've been   
in all those fights!?! Thanks for telling me, now!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
When they got to Assembly Hall, they found that the seats   
in the back had been taken. If they were to remain   
together, they would have to sit near the front.   
  
Meanwhile, Kaneda was looking around for Ranma, either   
one.  
  
Sitting second row, the furthest from the center aisle,   
Hiroshi was listening to the conversations around them.   
Hiroshi said, "Did you hear that? The teachers don't like   
getting a new acting headmaster. They're afraid the REAL   
headmaster will find out and come back!"  
  
Daisuke said, "Where has he been? Nobody seems to know   
who the real headmaster is? And what is FURINKAN, his   
little fiefdom?"   
  
Kaneda asked, "Do you see Ranma?" With that red shirt, he   
would've thought Ranma would be easy to spot, girl or   
guy.   
  
Hiroshi said, "That headmaster must be one really bad   
dude to have a bunch of teachers spooked."  
  
Daisuke said, "That must be why he IS headmaster."  
  
Hiroshi said, "Yeah, he out-intimidates the   
Intimidators."  
  
Daisuke said, "I don't get that intimidated by teachers."   
Not that he'd admit, anyway.   
  
Kaneda said, "I hope Ranma hasn't skipped school again."   
He told his friends, "You know, in Japan, only elementary   
and junior high is mandatory. They can't make you go to   
high school."  
  
Daisuke said, "Tell that to my parents."  
  
Hiroshi said, "I'm just glad mine don't send me to cram   
school or worse."   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Hiroshi looked at his watch, "What's taking so long!?!   
These kinds of assemblies are only supposed to take 25   
minutes!"  
  
Daisuke said, "You tell me. You're the one who likes to   
eavesdrop."  
  
Kaneda said, "Damn! Ranma has GOT to have bailed again!   
How am I going to keep her in school!?"  
  
Hiroshi had a fast ear. Turning them first this way, then   
that, he reported, "The rumors are the teachers aren't   
unhappy JUST about getting a new acting headmaster."  
  
Kaneda crossed his arms, and slumped down in his chair.   
"Why are we saying "headmaster", and not principal?"  
He was sitting on Ranma's uniform.  
  
Daisuke had a suggestion, "Because the guy's going to   
mess with our heads? That's what school's all about,   
isn't it."  
  
Hiroshi said, "I haven't found out what the problem is,   
yet. All of the new guy's records they keep in the   
computers are supposed to be okay. But they left some   
things out of the records."  
  
Daisuke commented, "Hmmph! Okay for a headmaster. That   
doesn't mean they're okay for us. Maybe they chose the   
guy because he's WORSE than the real headmaster."  
  
Kaneda was finally listening to what his friends were   
saying, "Why would Nabiki want to do that!??" Suddenly he   
had a very bad feeling. "--Some things were left out!?!"   
Even a spider can get caught in her own web.  
  
The audience stirred and sat up straighter. One of the   
teachers had walked onto the stage. It was Kaneda's   
history teacher, Mr. Fujiwara, the eldest teacher at   
Furinkan. He slammed the book he always carried down on   
the podium. Like a gavel, it brought a quiet to the   
auditorium.  
  
Mr. Fujiwara said, "Before your new acting-headmaster is   
introduced I have a few announcements to make." It was   
hard to hear the old man's voice because he hadn't turned   
the mike on, but everybody wanted to hear. "By agreement   
between the new administrator and faculty: (A) Furinkan   
will continue to emphasize sports." There was a mixture   
or cheers and groans at that news. "But," he got a sour   
face at this part, "there will be greater emphasis on   
girls' sports." Here, there were more groans than cheers.   
"(B) The dress code will NOT be changed. All students   
will attend school in the their prescribed uniform." No   
one cheered this news; the only groans were from the few   
who had believed Nabiki.  
  
Kaneda said, "So much for that part of Nabiki's grand   
scheme. It doesn't look good for the rest of it."  
  
Mr. Fujiwara continued, "And (C) free time between   
classes will change from five minutes, and immediately   
return to the NORMAL ten minutes." There was a great   
cheer at this news. That meant LESS class time, more   
goofing off time! And it was something the teachers had   
wanted, too.   
  
When the noise had died down, the teacher picked up his   
book from the podium. "And now, the new   
acting -headmaster."  
  
A little girl in a yellow dress hopped, skipped and   
bounced onto stage. Giving a big wave, she greeted them   
with, "Hello, Everybody! My name is Miss Hinako   
Ninomiya!"   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kaneda, Hiroshi, Daisuke--Nobody could believe that this   
little kid was going to be their new principal!  
  
Ignoring the stunned silence, little Miss Hinako leaned   
forward, and wagging a finger, said, "I hope you all will be   
GOOD boys and girls!"  
  
Not only was she a little kid, she acted like a little   
kid! A cutsey one!  
  
She straightened up, "Because if you're not--I PUNISH   
naughty, naughty children!"  
  
What??! THIS kawaii elementary schoolgirl was going to   
punish THEM!??! Power had already gone to her head.   
Furinkan High WAS somebody's little kingdom, and his   
little princess daughter had taken over!  
  
Miss Hinako said confidently, "Now I know you don't   
believe me! But I I've already cleaned up TWO reform   
schools!"  
  
Reform schools? What did she do, kill them with cavities?   
Kaneda had heard of some STRANGE martial arts techniques.   
Maybe she had filled the schools up with sugar and then   
flooded them with water until the delinquents were   
trapped in the heavy syrup.   
  
No, she had said "cleaned up".   
  
Kaneda started to imagine techniques that involved   
household cleansers. She WAS at the age where girls liked   
to play house, wasn't she?  
  
Suddenly the silence was broken when a girl stood up in   
the front row a section across from where Kaneda sat.   
When he saw who it was, HE almost rose out of his seat.   
Nabiki asked, "Miss Hinako, will you recognize special   
exceptions to the dress code? ...Like, say, Chinese   
clothes?"  
  
Somebody cried out in surprise: "OH-W-Oww!!" It was   
Ranma-chan jumping out of the audience like somebody had   
goosed her. She landed near Nabiki. The girl in the Chinese  
clothes was still dripping wet.  
  
She confronted the wise acre sister, "Hey!! Don't try and   
help me!"   
  
Miss Hinako said, "Oh, that is just not RIGHT! You don't   
look like a proper young lady at all!"  
  
Ranma-chan turned to and looked up onto the stage,   
"That's because I'm NOT a proper lady at all!!"  
  
Miss Hinako had her long sleeves up in front of her   
mouth; wide-eyed she asked, "Does that mean you admit to   
being a delinquent?"   
  
Ranma-chan cried, "Of COURSE not!!"   
  
Miss Hinako frowned, "You SOUND like a delinquent! Only   
delinquents yell at their elders!"  
  
Nabiki explained, "Please understand, Miss Hinako," She   
did a brief turn to address the auditorium as well,   
"...and everybody. Ranma has special problems. You see,   
her father craved a son so badly he refused to accept her as   
a girl. Ranma has been raised to believe she was, in fact, a   
guy, and...." She did her melodramatic turn again, "Well, it's   
a common enough tale in Japanese literature. I'm sure   
you've heard them."  
  
There WERE stories like that. And knowledge of them   
brought murmurs and nods of agreement that it was   
possible. Both girls and guys voiced their sympathy.   
Quiet a few said they'd like to help the poor, confused   
girl.   
  
Ranma-chan cried, "That's a LIE! I AM a guy!!"  
  
Nabiki said in her level serious voice, "Then why does   
ALL your computer records, and most of your paper ones,   
from your birth certificate on, show that you are, and   
always HAVE been a girl."  
  
Ranma-chan cried, "They do not!!"  
  
Nabiki smirked, triumphantly, as she was finally able to   
reveal, "They do now. Ranma Saotome as a male officially   
exists only as a deluded fantasy. Welcome to MY gender.   
Checkmate."  
  
Miss Hinako blinked, " "Ranma Saotome", you say? WHY that   
was the name on the forms I got assigning me to this   
school. Ranma Saotome is my special project!"   
  
  
The End of this chapter  
  
[For those who asked, "Checkmate" means "Same sex   
means no marriage." The way for their mating is checked.   
Ranma as a girl can't be engaged to another girl. But Kei   
can.]  
  
[I am not forcing Ranma to be a girl. Unlike other stories,   
Ranma is free to be a guy or a girl; he is only officially a   
girl, now. Kei isn't. Ranma and Kaneda are only being forced   
to come to terms with their girl halves so they can come to an   
agreement about who will be the girl. With their girl bodies   
come girl brains; they can adjust to being girls just as much   
as they allow themselves to.]  
  
[Besides hacking, Zyunzi Ozu used his computer skills to   
figure out how to best use his ninja skills. What records his   
computer couldn't change, his burglary ones could.]  
  
["Tomobiki" means "Friend-Pulling", which is why you do   
NOT want to hold a funeral on that day, but DO want to   
hold a wedding. That's why it is a VERY bad luck day for   
Ranma.]  
  
[You can't date these stories from the title. Because I   
like this title, the calendar in this alternativerse is   
out of sync with ours.] 


	14. 14: When Martial Artists Assemble!

Ranma & Kaneda  
By Ron Dow75  
  
14: When Martial Artists Assemble!   
  
  
The word was going around the Furinkan Assembly Hall:   
"Did you hear what Nabiki Tendou just said!?!"/ "She   
told Ranma Saotome something about "Welcome to my   
gender". What does that mean?"/ "It means, idiot of a   
boyfriend, she just let the cat out of the bag. Ranma can   
no longer pretend she's a guy."/ "I may be an idiot,   
but I never thought that cute redhead was a guy. Ow! Your   
elbow is sharp."/ "She has to be delusional to think   
people'll think she's a guy."/ "But look at the way she   
acts and dresses!"/ "Oh! Well, then. She is   
delusional."  
  
The girl in the Chinese shirt and pants standing in the   
area between the front row and the stage threatened, "I'm   
gonna get you for this, Nabiki!! NOBODY takes my manhood   
away!!"  
  
(Up on stage, new Acting-Headmaster Miss Hinako cried, "I   
sense battle aura! Oh, it's VERY naughty to fight in an   
auditorium!")  
  
Nabiki, out of school uniform in slacks, shirt and   
necktie, calmly threatened back, "Free room and board,   
Kei Tendou!"  
  
Ranma-chan yelled back, "I can LIVE without room and   
board-But not MY identity!!"  
  
(The little girl in the yellow dress herself threatened,   
"Miss Saotome! You will cease your violent tendencies at   
once!")  
  
Kaneda was coming from his seat, ready to get between his   
fiancée and sister, "Ranma: You can take your fight with   
Nabiki home!"  
  
Ranma-chan told him, "No, I can't! She shamed me in front   
of everybody here!!"  
  
(Miss Hinako produced something between her index and   
middle finger, "I warned you, Miss Saotome!")   
  
Kaneda grabbed Nabiki under her thighs and back. She told   
him coldly, "Put me down. I can take care of myself."  
  
Kaneda told her, "You can prove it outside--AWAY from all   
these bystanders!"  
  
(Miss Hinako held the circle between her fingers at   
Ranma-chan, "...Happo 5-yen Satsu...")  
  
Ranma-chan followed, "Only if she comes back and tells   
everybody the truth!!"  
  
(Miss Hinako was saying, "...Good girl's exercise step   
one...")  
  
As the three headed for the door in the back, people in   
the audience like Daisuke and Hiroshi were getting out of   
their seats, "Come on! Let's watch the martial artists   
fight!"  
  
Miss Hinako finished what she had to say, "...Ja! Byo!   
Tsu! Aku! Ma!" completing her arm's large circle in the   
air.  
  
The three were out of the lobby and the outside doors   
ahead of the sickly green explosion without smoke but   
with dust that blew the inner auditorium doors against   
their wall.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
The three were too wrapped up in their own concerns to   
notice what had happened:  
  
Nabiki grabbed a handful of Kaneda's long, red hair and   
pulled. "I told you I can handle it."  
  
Kaneda winced, "Ow, ow-kay!" He came to a stop and set   
his big sister down.  
  
Ranma-chan yelled, "Now, I'm gonna see that you NEVER   
mess with my life again!!"  
  
Nabiki took her stance: At ease. "Some man!"  
  
Ranma-chan stopped a meter close to her; "According to   
you--I'm NOT a man!!"  
  
Nabiki said as coolly as she could, "You are a man. When   
you're Kei Tendou."  
  
Ranma-chan brought her fist back, ready to put real power   
into her blow. "I'm RANMA Saotome!! Of the SAOTOME School   
of Martial Arts!"  
  
Nabiki raised her chin bravely, and challenged her,   
"Then, Saotome, go ahead. Ruin a girl's pretty face, and   
life."  
  
Ranma-chan told her, "I wil-l...." She snarled in   
frustration. This weak girl was no match for her! Ranma   
had to first fight a lifetime of the Code being drilled   
into her, with the reason WHY the Code was so important   
being demonstrated by the BAD example of her sensei, her   
pop...   
  
But her rage didn't want the WORSE-than-dojo-destroyer   
get away with what she'd done. Ranma-chan lowered her   
fist, aiming it for her gut.  
  
Nabiki said, "Go ahead. Destroy any baby that may be   
waiting to be born."  
  
Ranma-chan nearly lost her fist. She screamed, "You don't   
have any baby!!"  
  
Nabiki looked at her with steady, level eyes, "How do you   
know? Do you even know how babies are made?"  
  
Ranma-chan DID lose it: "Of COURSE I know!!" Her face   
became red proving that she did. And further flustering   
her.  
  
Nabiki suggested, "You could just cripple me." Then she   
took one of her dramatic turns, underplayed this time,   
"But what kind of a mother could I be like that?"  
  
Through clenched teeth, Ranma-chan screamed, "N-n,   
Nyah!!!"  
  
Kaneda thought, Nabiki, a mother? Ranma obviously   
doesn't know my sister at all. And this is not the time   
to tell Ranma about her.   
  
There was screaming, as dozens and more behind them,   
mostly girls, ran out of the Assembly Hall. Among them   
were Sayuri and Yuka, "Kaneda!! You guys! Something's   
happened to the guys inside!!"  
  
Sayuri cried, "You're martial artists!! Maybe you can   
help!!"  
  
Yuka said, "What we NEED are doctors, nurses--MEDICS!!"  
  
Sayuri told her, "Then go get some! Meanwhile, what we   
have here is a guy who can fight whatever did, did--" She   
couldn't put her fears into words. Instead she grabbed   
Kaneda's arm and pulled, "Come on!! Get in there and DO   
something!!"  
  
It took a second for Ranma-chan to be insulted. Then,   
"HEY! I'M a better martial artist than that jerk!!" and   
ran to get ahead of them.  
  
Nabiki let them go, "I'll stay here, and organize   
things!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Just entering the building gave everybody a bad feeling.   
It saturated the whole place.  
  
In the auditorium, it looked like a scene out of "Night   
of the Multiplex Zombies". The center aisle and the rows   
near it were clogged with the bodies of mostly guys. Most   
of the girls with them looked as if they were with their   
boyfriends. Lucky of them, they were near the top of the   
pile. They were the ones doing the most groaning. Some   
were even lifting themselves up and off the guys. Ranma-  
chan said, "I guess whatever took out the crowd was   
focused mainly on the guys."  
  
Away from the center, the bodies became less. There were   
guys draped over the backs of seats, wedged in seats, or   
upside down under the seats, their legs up in the air.   
  
Those not further away from the center were hiding or   
cowering, stifling their cries of panic and fear. Those   
near the far aisles had or were making their way quickly   
but quietly towards the exit.   
  
Behind Ranma-chan, Kaneda noted, "At least they're still   
breathing."  
  
Sayuri was holding onto the back of his shirt; "That'   
good!"   
  
Ranma-chan had completed her first reconnaissance, "It   
looks like the attack came down the center aisle, from in   
front of the stage."  
  
Kaneda did his own survey, "It even got the teachers ON   
stage."  
  
Sayuri said, "That poor little girl, Hinako! It looks   
like she's really hurt!"  
  
Kaneda headed for the aisle to the right of center, "I'll   
check--"  
  
Ranma-chan took his arm and halted him; "There's a faster   
way! AND I want to see what I can sense from the stage!"  
  
Kaneda looked at her for a second. "You mean," he   
swallowed, "The Anything-Goes Obstacle Eliminator!?!"  
  
Ranma-chan nodded, "You ARE able to at least do that!?!"  
  
Kaneda frowned, his competency as a martial artist had   
just been challenged! "Okay! Let's do it!"   
  
Sayuri asked, "What are you two talking...." She saw   
Kaneda take Ranma-chan by a wrist, and, then, squatted   
down to take her ankle in his other hand.   
  
Kaneda lifted the small redhead up in the air--and start   
spinning her!   
  
Sayuri did NOT want to believe her eyes, "An airplane   
ride!!?! That fancy martial arts name was for a little   
stunt bigger kids do to littler kids!?!!"  
  
Kaneda pushed off one foot, pivoting around and around on   
one heel, building up momentum. While Ranma-chan said   
with clenched teeth, "I hate boobs."   
  
Kaneda let go of small redhead, sending her flying:   
"Hyaah!!" While Ranma-chan added, "--Make that all girl-  
fat!"   
  
Sayuri shaded her eyes with her hand, "Ohoa!"  
  
While the red Kaneda got redder, and a little angry with   
himself, I should've been able to throw Ranma   
straighter!!  
  
Ranma-chan went high over the bodies and seats on the   
slope of the auditorium. Bending her elbows sharply   
around her head and using her toes as ailerons, she made   
her body an airfoil.  
  
She didn't go as far as she thought she should've gone in   
this lighter body. "A girl's body is a real drag!"   
  
When she reached the top of her flight's arc, she saw   
that she wasn't going to make it past the third row. In   
fact she was going to land against hard seat edges, not   
soft bodies! "I KNEW Kaneda wasn't gonna be that good!"  
  
Ranma-chan tucked herself in, and tumbled! Using her   
Saotome mid-air skills, her trajectory bent upward which   
in effect lengthened her flight. She was going to easily   
pass over the seats.  
  
But, "Now I'm gonna hit the rim of the stage with my gut-  
-worse: My boobs!!"  
  
Quickly, Ranma-chan focused on the feel of a gymnastic   
springboard. She slammed her feet down onto air, and rose   
up into the air. She straightened her form out until she   
had come as high as she was going to go. She   
summersaulted, bring her feet around her head and back   
down.  
  
Ranma-chan's feet did a perfect dismount on the stage   
beside the Hinako kid. She refused to do the hand   
flourish.  
  
(There was a smattering of applause from the few that   
were conscious and paying attention.)  
  
Ranma-chan did a quick, intense recon; the teachers on   
stage and in the wings were like the students out front.   
They weren't in ready to tell her what had happened. She   
had to look for the answers somewhere; she squatted down   
to examine the kid with the long, brown hair, in the   
yellow dress.   
  
Only there was something different. She didn't look the   
way that Ranma remembered: "Hunh?? I thought she was   
younger? She has breasts. They're not all that big, but   
there. Up close, she looks like a girl in junior high."   
Ranma-chan frowned at the thought. "She STILL shouldn't   
be put over high school students. It's an insult!"  
  
Ranma-chan patted the adolescent's cheek, "Hey! Wake up:   
Tell me what happened!"   
  
Hinako slowly opened her big, blue eyes.   
  
Suddenly, the girl bolted away from Ranma-chan. Sitting   
straight up and pointing, she accused, "You attacked me,   
you bad delinquent!" (With her other hand she was   
reaching for something in one of her almost invisible   
pockets.)  
  
Ranma-chan didn't like being accused of something she   
didn't do, "I did not!! I came back to help!" She   
motioned towards the seats, "Look: Something took out the   
whole school!"  
  
Hinako seemed to no longer distrust the redhead,   
"Something did??" She looked, and saw her students, who   
were just now coming to. She leaped to her flats,   
"Something did!! Whoever did this is a very BAD person!"   
She raised a yen coin out in front of her, "They must be   
severely punished!!"  
  
Ranma-chan had rose to her own feet. "Oh-kay. But first   
tell me who it is."  
  
Hinako was about to tell her. She then looked over her   
shoulder; "Don't you know?"  
  
Ranma-chan almost did a face-fault. Steadying herself,   
she said, "That kid's useless." She looked around at the   
teachers that were waking up, too. "I'll ask an adult;   
somebody who CAN be responsible."  
  
But before she could, Sayuri told her, "Traumatic   
situations often affect people's short-term memories!"   
She and Kaneda had jogged the long way, down the right-  
hand aisle.  
  
Giving off sparks, a shrinking Hinako looked suspiciously   
at the two headed for the stage, "Who are these   
children?!"   
  
Sayuri said, "Me? I'm just part of the Greek chorus."   
  
Kaneda asked, "The school teaches Greek songs??" Neither   
of them had been close enough to notice the girl getting   
smaller.  
  
Hinako said, "A "Greek chorus" provides information and   
comments that the audience wouldn't otherwise hear. I'm   
also an English teacher."  
  
Sayuri had to say, "I was just making a joke. (One I HAD   
thought would go over this little girl's head.)"  
  
Ranma-chan said, "Take it easy, 'teach'; they came back   
to help, too. I guess we're gonna have to ask if anybody   
still has a memory of what happened." She saw that those   
that had fallen on the floor were now helping up those   
who were still down. She also saw that Hinako was back to   
looking like a little kid! Ranma-chan put her fingertips   
to her temple and shook her head; "Could my own memory   
have been affected by this fog of chi? I could have sworn she   
had.... Well, that doesn't matter."  
  
And Ranma-chan prepared herself; "What matters is--"   
  
Hinako cried with a start, "Sirens!! Somebody called the   
police and ambulances!"   
  
Sayuri said, "Yuka!"   
  
The Ninomiya kid's arms and legs became a hyperactive   
blur as she quickly ran to rally the teachers,   
"Outsiders! Outsiders! Rise and shine, all my teachers!   
We have to band together and protect the name of the   
school from Outsiders!"   
  
Hearing that outsiders were coming to report on the way   
they ran things at the high school the faculty did rouse   
themselves. Mr. Fujiwara, the old history teacher called   
on them to, "Come together! We must provide a solid   
front! Furinkan is OUR domain!"   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Of course classes were late getting started. But by the   
middle of 2nd period all but a few of the students were   
now in their classrooms. Of course, that didn't mean they   
were studying.  
  
It was like free time, with everybody asking questions,   
comparing notes, and offering opinions: "Nobody was   
hurt??"/ "Only those that bumped something when they   
fell."/ "Or had somebody fall on them-Owr, my back!"/   
"Speak for yourself. I feel weak and tired, like the   
energy has been drained from my body."/ "As opposed to   
when, Gosunkugi?"/ "Well, something happened. My skin   
is prickly, almost like it's sunburned."/ "Just your   
skin? Mine feels like it goes through me."/ "And I'm   
still seeing spots."/ "And you don't remember what   
happened, either?"/ "I remember getting whomped hard   
from behind."./ "--And feeling like a flat inner   
tube."/ "The last thing I remember is Nabiki Tendou   
getting up and saying something."/ "Something about,   
changing the dress code to allow Chinese clothes??"  
  
More than one in the class looked towards Ranma-chan.   
  
Things had been so busy, and hectic with people   
everywhere Ranma hadn't had an opportunity to get away.   
Ranma was still a girl. The redhead was lost in a   
thought, "There was something very suspicious about that   
energy I felt in the auditorium. If I didn't know better,   
I would think the place was filled with battle aura   
residue."  
  
Ranma didn't want to sit still, so Kaneda had to stand   
by; he said, "I felt it, too. It was like when you walk   
into a place and just KNOW there was trouble. But it was   
low-grade trouble."  
  
Ranma-chan confirmed with what her more highly trained   
senses had told her, "If I didn't know better, I would   
say that everybody that got hit were stoked by a fight."  
  
Kaneda uncrossed his arms, "...But without the fighters!   
THAT'S what I was feeling!"   
  
Sayuri had been trying to follow what the martial artists   
were discussing, "Do you think I might have the sense,   
too?! It wasn't just seeing everybody like that; I felt   
the trouble. That's why I ran looking for you guys!"  
  
Daisuke said, "If there was a fight, I'm surprised Sayuri   
wasn't with those who got flattened."  
  
Sayuri told the jerk, "I've told you! I appreciate the   
ART, not the violence."  
  
Hiroshi said, "Well, *I* don't appreciate the violence. I   
woke up folded in a seat three rows from where I started.   
And I mean FOLDED! It was like the water was wrung out of   
me."  
  
Yuka asked, "But you weren't thirsty?"  
  
Daisuke reminded everybody, "*I* was thrown into a pile   
of guys half way across the auditorium. I woke up with my   
head and shoulders under the dogpile."   
  
Kaneda made no comment about his friend's smoldering   
anger. Kaneda's anger flared, and then was basically   
gone. Daisuke's seldom flared. And was seldom entirely   
gone.   
  
Yuka asked, "Is it true about what Nabiki said about your   
father, Ranma?"  
  
Sayuri told her friend, "Yuka, the topic is figuring out   
what happened."  
  
Yuka said, "But I'm tired of that one. It scares me."  
  
Hiroshi asked, "Yuka, you remember what Nabiki and Ranma   
were doing up front? Hardly anybody can tell us what   
happened then."  
  
Yuka thought about what she thought she remembered,   
"Well, I guess it was because I wasn't interested in   
going to see Ranma, Kaneda, and Nabiki fight." She   
frowned at the two boys, "Like everybody who DID get   
wiped."   
  
The class shifted its attention her way, just as the   
intercom was turned on: That Hinako kid announced, "The   
Tendous and Ranma Saotome are to report me. And you   
better not be late, if you don't want to be bad boys and   
a girl!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Ranma-chan and Kaneda were late. Or too late: The kid was   
gone from the office. She wasn't anywhere near the   
office. She was in the trees that separated the school   
buildings from the playing fields. When they saw her, she   
was patting one of the largest trees. When she turned   
around, the little girl happily said to them, "This will   
make the best one, don't you think?!"   
  
Ranma-chan didn't like playing 20 questions with a kid,   
"Best for what?"  
  
Nabiki, back in her uniform, stepped into view, "Why a   
tree house, of course."  
  
Ranma-chan didn't want to believe her ears, "A tree   
house?"  
  
Kaneda asked, "I thought tree houses were more for, like,   
little boys."  
  
Hinako smiled, already imaging it in her head, "Not when   
their gingerbread houses!"  
  
Nabiki said, "I do hope she means gingerbread VICTORIAN   
houses; meaning with a lot of ornamental woodwork."  
  
Little Hinako nodded, "Just like in the English fairy   
tails that first interested me in learning English!   
Fantasy themes make the BEST playhouses for girls!"  
  
Nabiki said, "But this "playhouse" will be your office,   
right?"  
  
Hinako managed to become serious, "My office will be in   
the best position to be on the lookout for delinquency!"  
  
Kaneda and Ranma-chan briefly noted the number of trees   
all around. Well, if the little kid could get a tree   
house built on school property, how big of a problem   
would she have getting rid of a few trees so she could   
use her "Little Astronomer" telescope?   
  
Ranma-chan said, "Whatever. So why did you get the office   
to call us out of class, 'Headmaster'."  
  
Hinako asked, " "Headmaster"? I thought I was just the   
principal."  
  
Before Ranma could tell the kid WHY she called her a   
"headmaster", Kaneda asked, "Does it have to do with what   
happened in Assembly Hall?"  
  
Hinako said as if she just remembered, "Yes: That's what   
I wanted to ask!" She hurried over to Ranma-chan. "Did   
you see me! Did I really look too old to be a kid, but   
too young to be an adult!?! Did I, did I?!!"   
  
Ranma-chan took a step back from the insistent kid, "Er,   
something like that. I THOUGHT I saw you lookin'   
different. I don't know how old you looked."  
  
Hinako cried, "Yipee-eee!!" and started running around   
hyper, "I CAN be in-between!! I HAVE a chance to go to   
school like a normal child!! I just have to find the   
way!!"  
  
Nabiki had become impatient; stepping in front of the   
little girl, she asked, "Wasn't there ANOTHER reason you   
called us?"  
  
Hinako was still distracted by her own thoughts, "There   
was?"  
  
Nabiki 'suggested', "Didn't you say something about Ranma   
Saotome being your "special project"."  
  
Ranma Saotome cried, "YOU'RE the reason for that, AREN'T   
you!!?!"  
  
(Hinako stopped acting like a small child, "I sense   
battle spirit!! It's very strong, very violent battle   
spirit!")  
  
Kaneda put himself in front of Ranma-chan; he didn't   
think Nabiki could talk her way out of it THIS time.   
"Nabiki!! You OWE Ranma! And you're going to settle up!"  
  
Nabiki said, "Oh? What are you going to do? Hold me while   
Ranma "metes out some well-earned revenge" on me?"   
  
Ranma-chan cried, "I don't NEED anybody's help to give   
you what I owe you!"  
  
(Hinako cried, "I will NOT be ignored!!" She held up a   
50-yen coin between two fingers, "Happo 50-yen Satsu!")   
  
Green tendrils formed around the child's aura and went   
through the hole in the 50-yen piece. They reached out   
for the nearest battle aura they were aimed at.  
  
That was Kaneda's.  
  
Ranma-chan had decided to get around Kaneda's   
interference by leaping over him. And Hinako: Not wanting   
to involve a kid in the payback, Ranma-chan landed on the   
other side of Nabiki.  
  
Before Nabiki, and even Ranma-chan could do anything,   
Kaneda cried out, "Wha, what's ha-ppen-ing...!"   
  
Ranma-chan cried, "His battle aura!! I can see his chi   
energy being pulled into the coin and out into--"  
  
Ranma, Nabiki, and even the sapped Kaneda gasped: The   
child went through puberty and beyond in scant seconds!   
She went from a little girl around 8 or 9 and aged into a   
woman 27 or 28! There was no mistaking that this was the   
adult form of Miss Hinako, she looked just like what the   
girl would've been expected to look like when she grew   
up. And grow up she did: There was no mistaking that she   
HAD become an adult woman, the way her now too short and   
tight yellow dress clung to her statuesque curves. The   
beautiful woman would be any man's idea of what a mature   
woman SHOULD look like!  
  
Kaneda fell to his knees before stunning woman. Dried out   
and emaciated but not thirsty, he couldn't will his martial   
arts sense of balance to keep from falling face down onto   
the ground before her feet.   
  
Miss Hinako Ninomiya said, "I hope this will teach you to   
respect your principal."  
  
Ranma-chan cried, "YOU!! You're what happened in Assembly   
Hall this morning!"   
  
Miss Hinako turned herself around. Lifting an eyebrow,   
she asked, "I am?"  
  
Nabiki asked, "She is? Is she the reason for Kaneda being   
like that?"  
  
Ranma-chan said, "I get it, now: You drained the battle   
aura out of TOO many would-be spectators. It was TOO much   
for your body to absorb, you overloaded, and blew their fight lust   
out of you back at them!"  
  
Despite Ranma's threats to Nabiki, she'd been holding   
back. Seeing a truly capable opponent, Ranma's battle   
aura intensified to serious levels. She was ready to take   
on the person who'd laid out hundreds of students!  
  
Miss Hinako said, "You exude violent power! For the peace   
of this school, I will take it away from you!" And she   
held out the coin again.  
  
Ranma-chan cried, "MY violent power!!?" But she held   
herself back from attacking.  
  
Ranma-chan studied her actions intensely. She was tensed,   
her body ready to make her own move at the last moment.   
First she had to learn as much about the transforming   
girl's technique as she could. The better she understood   
her opponent, the better she would be prepared to counter   
her attack. If not this one, future ones.   
  
Miss Hinako said, "Happo 50-yen Satsu/Obliteration!"  
  
Her aura's tendrils again reached through the coin for   
the closest aura it was aimed at...  
  
Ranma-chan shoved Nabiki into them, "Here! You brought   
her here! You should pay the bill!" But more important   
than her revenge, it would give Ranma a chance to study   
exactly how Ninomiya's technique affected its victim! If   
only she hadn't been distracted when Kaneda was tapped.  
  
What happened was... Nothing. The tendrils could barely   
hold onto Nabiki's aura; the yellow-green energy it   
brought out was dim and washed out.   
  
...And all the while, Nabiki stood there as self-  
possessed as ever looking somewhat disdainfully at the   
older woman. When it was apparent nothing would happen,   
Nabiki asked, "Is it Ranma's turn, now?"  
  
Miss Hinako turned her coin on Ranma, "You KNEW that was   
going to happen."  
  
Ranma-chan said, "I did?"  
  
Miss Hinako told her, "You should have taken the   
opportunity to flee while you could."  
  
Ranma-chan told her, "I DON'T run from a fight!!"  
  
Miss Hinako told her, "Yes, I see it all clearly now.   
Your battle aura is proof that you are a delinquent. I   
see it was no mistake that you were made my special   
project."  
  
Ranma-chan protested, "What do you MEAN "special pro--"--  
"  
  
Miss Hinako cried, "Happo 50..."  
  
Ranma-chan dodged and summersaulted away faster than she   
could say her words. On her way back to her feet, Ranma-  
chan had a pebble in her fingers. Even before she had   
regained her footing, Ranma-chan flicked the pebble at   
slingshot force at the coin.   
  
The coin was knocked out from between the woman's   
fingers.  
  
Ranma-chan watched it land far enough away that with HER   
speed, she could easily reach it first (if Miss Hinako   
WAS as unprepared for real exertion as she looked).   
Ranma-chan said, "Ha! Bet you're not so "respectable"   
without your magic coin!"  
  
Miss Hinako said, "You'd lose that bet, delinquent!" She   
held up her hands and brought thumb-to-thumb, index-to-  
index fingers. Looking through the circle they formed,   
she cried, "Happo Tsurisen Gaeshi/Happy Change Returned!"  
  
Ranma-chan was struck full on by a blast from a small   
exploding yellow-green star!! It came into her and threw   
her from the inside, her outside only following!  
  
Feeling sunburned from the bone out, Ranma-chan landed   
like a puppet-doll, meters away. Strangely, her breasts   
and buttocks hurt the least. They were the furthest from   
her core.  
  
As Ranma-chan lay there, gathering her fighting spirit   
from where it had been blown out of her, Miss Hinako came   
to squat near her. The woman was gone; it was the little   
girl patted Ranma's cheek, "You're the reason I agreed to   
come here, My Special Project!" And she looked beyond the   
redhead and frowned; sounding like a petulant little   
child, she said, "I'll SHOW them I can, too, reform bad   
girls and boys!"  
  
Nabiki now stood beside her; looking down, she said, "If   
I remember correctly, you said you've ALREADY cleaned up   
two reform schools."  
  
Miss Hinako pouted, "But I didn't REFORM them. My change   
didn't change them. All I did was tame them. I only   
sealed them off from all fighting energy so they couldn't   
use it again."  
  
Nabiki was startled, "You can do that?" It was clear this   
was not something she had planned on. She actually seemed   
concerned for others, and perhaps Ranma, as well.  
  
Miss Hinako suddenly smiled, and became very pleased with   
herself, "I can do all sorts of things with auras! I'm a   
good girl!"  
  
Nabiki said seriously, "Let's hope so."  
  
Kaneda had recovered enough to have joined them; "WHAT   
sorts of things!?! What do you MEAN seal off!?! HOW do   
you plan to "reform" Ranma!?!! WHY wasn't Nabiki   
affected, too!?!"  
  
The little girl put her hands to the ears buried under   
her long, brown hair, "Too many questions! I'm tired of   
thinking about my power! I want to do something else!"   
She looked at Nabiki, "Do you want to play with me?"  
  
Nabiki said, "Uh... Ranma's your special project,   
remember?"  
  
Miss Hinako said, "That's right!" And she put her hands   
on her knees as she bent over Ranma, "Do you want to play   
a game with me? Do you have any toys?! Do you want to   
play tag?!"  
  
Ranma-chan felt her fighting spirit coming back to her,   
"No!! I don't want to play!!"  
  
Kaneda stepped in, "Er, we have to get back to class! It   
is, Miss Hinako, still school time."  
  
The little girl straightened up, "You're right. It is the   
time for all good children to be in school. And I'm the   
principal; it's the time for me to be in school, too."   
Then she asked, "Perhaps we can play after school?"  
  
Ranma-chan told her, rising to her elbows, "You have got   
to be kidding, you little--" Kaneda flipped a coin into   
her open mouth, forcing her to close it.  
  
While Ranma-chan tried to cough the 5-yen piece out,   
Kaneda said, "Miss Hinako, WE'RE martial artists! After   
school we have to do are kata drills, practice spars, and   
endurance exercises. That on top of all the homework we   
have to do! Of, er, course, if YOU want to join us in our   
routines...." he did a silent prayer that he hadn't gone   
too far.  
  
Miss Hinako wrinkled her little nose, "That doesn't sound   
like fun."  
  
Nabiki told her, "That's right. Nothing a little girl   
would be interested in."  
  
Miss Hinako sighed, "Sometimes I wish I wasn't little. I   
wish I were an adult."  
  
Ranma-chan finally spit out the coin. Getting one deep   
breath, she was up on her feet, clutching Kaneda by his   
shirt front, "Why you, I ought to pound you for that!"  
  
Miss Hinako was on alert, "Spontaneous aggression!"  
  
Ranma-chan screamed, " "Spontaneous"!!?!"  
  
Kaneda wrapped an arm around Ranma-chan's waist, "It's   
okay, Miss Hinako! We're engaged! You know how some   
couples are, uh, don't you?" How much of a little kid was   
she??  
  
Ranma-chan hit Kaneda's hand at a nerve junction, forcing   
it off of her hips, "Don't "couple" me." Then she told   
him, "Pathetic! Afraid of a little girl."  
  
Nabiki said, "Excuse Ranma, Miss Hinako. She's a bit slow   
on the uptake."  
  
Miss Hinako agreed, "Delinquents have a hard time   
learning! That's why they're delinquents. I shall set up   
a remedial program for her."  
  
Ranma-chan cried, "What do you mean HER!!?!"  
  
The school bell rang. Nabiki said with a trace of humor,   
"Saved by the bell. You'd better get back to class,   
Ranma. You don't want to get any further behind in your   
study. How many years is it, now?"  
  
Kaneda told her, "Nabiki! I thought you KNEW better."  
  
Nabiki said, "I know that students are TESTED first   
before they're put in any special program."  
  
Ranma-chan asked suspiciously, "And YOU'RE offerin' to   
help me pass this test!?"  
  
Nabiki was pleased her little tactic had sidetracked   
Ranma away from a confrontations over her sex; "ONLY if   
you want me to. But I guarantee you I CAN help any NORMAL   
person pass a test."   
  
Miss Hinako said, "Hurry, Children! You mustn't be late   
for your classes!" Luckily she didn't hear the hint of   
cheating in Nabiki's offer.   
  
Nabiki said, "And you'll want to get back to planning   
your office. These trees will be perfect for it. Aren't   
there woods in many fairy tales?"  
  
Miss Hinako bounced up and down in place, "Oh, yes!! And   
I shall decorate my office with stars, and flowers, and   
giraffes and..." Apparently her idea of "fairy tales" had   
shifted over to that in "Hello, Kitty".  
  
All that outpouring kawaii energy was just too much for   
the chi-sensitive Ranma to take. She retreated.  
  
Nabiki, on the other hand, was more sensitive to Ranma-  
chan's barely suppressed energy. She decided to humor the   
new principal a while longer. "You know, as Headmaster of   
a HIGH school, I think it'd be a good idea if your office   
had more of an "institutional" look..."  
  
Miss Hinako said, "Hmm, yes, you're probably right."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Ranma-chan went looking for hot water. "That does it!! If   
I'm gonna be 'reformed', it's gonna be 'cause I'm a   
pervert GUY! Let her 'teach me' not to be a girl."  
  
Kaneda ran beside her, "You actually think she's a   
threat!?!"  
  
Ranma-chan growled, "Not a threat: A menace! Imagine   
somebody teachin' a dangerous technique like those to a   
little kid! Why not give her a loaded bazooka!?"  
  
Kaneda asked, "Are you sure it's a technique, and not   
her?"  
  
Ranma-chan had reached the door that led to the shoe   
lockers. "Of course it's a technique! She gets into her   
position, gives the name, and makes her move! Don't YOU   
do your techniques that way?"  
  
Kaneda said, "Yes. (Even though I've always thought it   
was a stupid thing to do; it tells your opponent exactly   
what he has to counterattack.)" As they were headed for   
the lockers they'd left their indoor shoes, Kaneda asked,   
"Who WOULD teach a little kid those reckless skills?"  
  
Ranma-chan said, "Somebody who HATES adults! She drains   
the energy out of you so you can't get away from her   
Candyland World."  
  
Kaneda said, "Make that "Cocoa Land", as in "koukou",   
Japanese for high school?"  
  
Ranma-chan went right through the shoe locker area   
without stopping. "I not in the mood to laugh."  
  
Kaneda asked, "But she's after delinquents, not adults."   
They WERE going to track mud like delinquents.  
  
Ranma-chan told him, "Delinquents think they know better   
than adults, think they act better than adults!   
Delinquents are SUPER adults. They'd hate her elementary   
cartoon playland WORSE than adults!"  
  
Kaneda followed, "I guess that makes sense. And if she   
absorbs their negative aura, her positive, innocent   
energy protects her!"  
  
Ranma-chan was headed towards the office, "Like I said,   
her "sugar-and-spice-and-everything-nice" suffocates the   
rest!"  
  
Kaneda thought he understood, "But until it does, she has   
to grow up. Being an adult is a negative."  
  
Ranma-chan told him, "NOT to me it ain't! --And bein' a   
guy AIN'T, either!"  
  
Kaneda realized, "What, a guy isn't.... Of course: That's   
it! Guys ARE negative! THAT'S why Nabiki wasn't affected!   
--And that's why hardly any of the girls were affected in   
Assembly Hall! She gets her energy source from the   
negative side of yang!" Over all yang was positive to   
yin's negative; but not all male things were positive.  
  
Ranma-chan stopped in front of a room near the office.   
She spun around, "Good! Then that means I'm REALLY a guy,   
even when I don't LOOK like one! 'Cause she hit me real   
good with that "Happo Change Returned" attack, as hard as   
the other guys got hit!" And she spun around to go into   
the room.  
  
Kaneda read and asked, "Why are you going into the   
"Faculty Room"?"  
  
Ranma-chan told him as she went inside, "It's my first   
act as a delinquent: And I'm STEALIN' a teakettle! Let   
that brat "reform" a girl she can't find!"  
  
As the hydraulic arm eased the door shut behind Ranma-  
chan, Kaneda said casually, "I wonder if AKANE Saotome   
can learn Miss Hinako's martial arts techniques."  
  
No sooner had the door closed than it opened again.   
Ranma-chan asked, "...learn new martial arts   
techniques?..."  
  
Kaneda said, "More powerful ones than any I've seen you   
use." He took the teakettle from Ranma-chan, "Thank   
you," and poured its hot water on herself. She was back   
in her Furinkan girls' uniform.  
  
Ranma-chan cried, "Hey! I got that!"  
  
"Akane" handed the kettle back, "There's still enough in   
there to change back into a guy. Bye! I'm off to see   
Little Miss Small Change." She passed one of the   
secretaries in the hall.  
  
Ranma-chan struggled with herself. But in the end it came   
down to what was the most important thing in her life. If   
she had been a guy at the time, she may have made a   
different choice. But she was using a girl's brain.   
"Here!" she said, pushing the kettle into the secretary's   
hands.   
  
As Ranma-chan sped back the way they'd come from, she   
muttered to herself, "I KNOW I'm gonna regret this. But   
if it means bein' a better martial artist, I GOTTA take   
the chance!" And taking chances was what being a martial   
arts master was all about.  
  
Ranma-chan called out to her rival, "Why do YOU have to   
be a girl?!"  
  
"Akane" told her, "If her power DOES feed off of negative   
male energy, it only makes sense that a FEMALE would   
attract it!"  
  
Ranma-chan grumbled at the logic, "I hope that doesn't   
mean I hafta be POSITIVE about bein' female."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
They passed Nabiki near the stairs up to the classrooms.   
"What in the world?? What do those two idiots think   
they're up to?" She called out, "Kane-chan, you KNOW   
you're not registered as a student?!"  
  
"Akane" told her, "Miss Hinako doesn't know that! By the   
time she does, maybe I'll have the secret to her   
techniques!"  
  
Ranma-chan had caught up with and was passing "Akane";   
"HA! Ranma Saotome IS registered! I'll be able to stay   
around the brat, when YOU can't, Mr. Absent!"  
  
It was Kane-chan's turn to growl at the unfairness of it   
all.  
  
Nabiki headed up to Classroom 2-E shaking her head. "All   
that over a martial arts technique. I'm glad they don't   
know about MY special technique." Then she had a thought   
that really made her glad they didn't know about it, "If   
Ranma had known I used it on her today--twice, no less,   
she would've countered it and KILLED me. And my technique   
must be the reason Miss Hinako's didn't affect me."   
Unlike SOME idiots, I will be not blurt out the name of   
MY technique. I'm not telling anybody I even HAVE a   
secret technique.  
  
  
The End of this chapter  
[Okay. Ranma and Kaneda misunderstand a lot about Miss   
Hinako. They are right, though, that girls ARE less   
susceptible to her techniques. Study what happens to the   
girls verses the guys in the Takahashi-sama stories.]  
  
[And both Miss Hinako and I don't want to be visiting   
kiddieland any more than the story says we have to.] 


	15. 15: Fight Karma with Karma

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"Fight Karm with Karma"  
  
Fanfic Anime Ranma Ranma & Kanedafont size: (+) : (-)  
  
Author: Ron Dow751. Default Chapter2. 02: Ranma's Girl Problem3.   
03: School is No Place for Challenges4. 04: Hot Water5. 05: The   
Tendou Trick6. 06: The Answer7. 07: Taihen Beef8. 08: A Sight Best   
Not Beheld9. 09: May The Goddess Bless10. 10: A Doll For Two11.   
11: Go Ahead, Try to Take Her12. 12: Check Mate13. 13: Tomobiki   
the 13th14. 14: When Martial Artists Assemble!15. 15: Fight Karma   
with Karma  
  
PG-13 - English - Humor/Action/Adventure - Reviews: 40 - Publish   
date: 08-04-02 - Updated: 12-06-02 storyid: 892133  
  
  
Ranma & Kaneda  
By Ron Dow75  
  
15: Fight Karma with Karma  
  
[To skip to the changes I made go to Edit: Find: `]  
  
[Note: A Japanese schoolday has 4 periods before lunch.]  
  
`  
While Ranma-chan and Kane-chan competed to win the secret of   
Principal Hinako Ninomiya's techniques, Nabiki had returned to   
her 3rd period class.   
  
When she entered Class 2-E, Tsugako interrupted her English book   
report by blurting out, "Nabiki!??! You survived?!!" `  
  
Ichie, Nabiki's Second Vice President and Treasurer, rose in her   
seat, "Again??!" She wasn't the only one in class to voice their   
surprise.  
  
The English teacher ordered, "Miss Gojo! Miss Ichijo! It is   
still class time!" The pudgy Mr. Ohara turned his hard, critical   
eye towards the one who had entered in the middle of his lesson.  
  
Nabiki, trying to look modestly smug, said, "I just returned   
from seeing the new principal. She liked my suggestions."  
  
Mr. Ohara was obviously yet to be one of Miss Hinako's fans. But   
he motioned for Miss Tendou to take her seat. He then told Miss   
Gojo, "Proceed with your report on Adam Smith's "The Wealth of   
Nations"."  
  
First Vice President and Secretary Tsugako continued, "Er...   
"Greed is good. It is there on both sides of the equation,   
demand as well as supply"..."   
  
Ichie, the cute girl with the bowl hairdo, glanced around at her   
President, before returning her eyes towards the front of the   
room. She said in as quiet a voice as she could, "Well?!!"  
  
Nabiki said, seemingly as calm and in-charge as ever, "A little   
aikido."  
  
Ichie whispered, "I thought the "School of Anything-Goes"   
teaches.... Never mind. Ask a stupid question." She risked   
turned around to look at Nabiki, "I thought you stopped your   
martial arts practices."  
  
Nabiki nodded, and said as if she had a secret, "All but one.   
And I don't "practice" it." A serious look washed over her face,   
"But I can't practice it as much as I'd like." A shudder went   
through her. "I have to be very careful about when I use my   
aikido."  
  
Ichie looked at her, "How very cryptic." But she made the pinky-  
swear sign, "But I promise to keep it our secret weapon."  
  
Mr. Ohara called, "Nabiki Tendou, we shall hear YOUR extra   
credit book report now!" Tsugako was already on her way back to   
her own seat.  
  
Despite the teacher's wish to embarrass her, Nabiki wasn't   
caught off-guard. She got her report from her bookbag, and went   
to stand in front of the classroom.  
  
Nabiki reported in an English that was less heavily accented as   
the others in her classroom, "As Mr. Ohara has only specified   
that our reading must be at a certain level of proficiency, I   
have chosen to report on a classic. A science fiction classic."   
The class muttered briefly among themselves. They didn't think   
science fiction was Nabiki's usual taste. Nabiki enjoyed keeping   
people wondering about her; it helped keep them off balance. She   
read from her report, " "The Foundation", by Isaac Asimov"..."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
`  
When the class time was over, and free time had begun, the Vice-  
President of the Sci-Fi club hurried over to try and recruit a   
new member. There was a knot of people had already started to   
form around her, asking her questions. But she, as usual, was   
careful not to be too specific about anything. ` Hiro Mirioka   
said, "Nabiki Tendou! I didn't know you liked what we like!"  
  
Miss Tendou informed him, "I don't. "The Foundation Trilogy"   
just had something about it I could relate to."  
  
Hiro tried to draw her into his universe, "Like, maybe, "The   
Mule"? HE could change they way people think just by looking at   
them!"  
  
Miss Tendou laughed, "I am NO Mule. He nearly ended up ruling   
the galaxy, and at a young age. If *I* had his power don't you   
think I would be the lord of at LEAST Nerima by now?"   
  
Those that had been listening laughed and agreed. Nabiki was   
pleased with herself. She thought she had planted a seed she   
could use WITHOUT revealing the truth. ` And even if they did   
know the truth, people like Ranma would have to be far more   
emotionally balanced to be any real threat to her. `  
  
Standing in the corner, apart from others, Ichie didn't laugh so   
hard. She knew enough from Nabiki that martial artists tried to   
put emotional force behind their chi attacks. She whispered to   
herself, "Aikido deflects the force aimed at it...." Ichie   
looked at her leader in a new light. "No wonder she acts so   
coolly, without much emotional force. It must be how she keeps   
herself grounded, and ready to use a person's own emotional   
energy against them." She shuddered, "What could have caused her   
to develop that skill SO well!? I didn't think she put herself   
in that much danger!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
`  
Ranma-chan had lost the first round of the competition. ` For   
now she was waiting in the shoe locker room. This time she had   
her indoor slippers on.   
  
She checked the clock again. She remembered the school had   
returned to the normal ten-minute free time between periods.   
Fourth period would begin soon; she headed up to Classroom 1-F   
talking to herself. She was fuming so badly she repeated some of   
what was said by the others, "And little miss "I-don't-go-to-  
school-here" volunteers to go get everything that brat "Miss   
Hinako" needs for her tree house! "Don't worry," "Akane-chan"   
says, "I know all about carpentry! I helped build a dojo: More   
than ONCE!". And off she goes to the hardware store."  
  
"MEANWHILE, *I* have to return to classes "like a"--gag!--"good   
girl" until the kid-head-master decides to give me permission to   
get out of them! "I'll talk to your tannin/homeroom teacher to   
make SURE you don't play skip school again!"."  
  
"At LEAST I made sure Akane left the school grounds. If she   
keeps her word, I SHOULD be back when she gets back by   
lunchtime." She frowned though, "She better not sneak back and   
try to learn that Hinako-brat's secrets before ME!"  
  
In her agitation, Ranma-chan had walked faster than she'd   
planned. She came into the classroom a couple of minutes before   
the bell:  
  
Hiroshi noticed her first, "Wow! Ranma, you're still in your   
Chinese clothes! Did you get special permission, after all?!"  
  
Daisuke said, "I wouldn't have thought you knew how to handle   
little kids, Ranma."  
  
Hiroshi said to his friend, "Aw, Daisuke, don't you know that   
girls are just better at dealing with kids!?"  
  
Ranma-chan cried, "I'm NOT good with kids!!"  
  
Sayuri told the jerks, "Leave her alone! Didn't you HEAR what   
her father did to the poor thing!?!"  
  
Yuka reminded them, "He raised her to believe she was a guy!"  
  
Hiroshi looked at Ranma-chan. "Puberty must've come as a   
surprise." Even in the baggy clothes, her figure was well   
rounded.  
  
The bell rang. Mr. Suzuki teacher told them to be, "Quite,   
class! Time to be in your seats! Life and Environment Studies   
will be about the differences between mammals and the other   
animals..."  
  
Almost growling, Ranma-chan went to hers, saying to the others,   
"Ain't anybody gonna ask where's Kaneda!? Why am I the only one   
who hasta have good attendance?"  
  
But the teacher didn't ignore "Mr. Absent".  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
As soon as Ranma-chan's fourth period was over with, she bounded   
out of the classroom door. Anything or one that got in her way,   
she just jumped over.  
  
Daisuke asked, "What is HER problem? She ducked out on us all of   
Friday's free periods, too."  
  
Hiroshi said, "Maybe she HAS to keep going. You know, "female   
problems"."  
  
Sayuri glared at the jerks, "And what do YOU two know about   
that!?"  
  
Hiroshi said, "I KNOW my grandmother has problems like that! She   
has to wear diapers."  
  
Daisuke said, "Oh, Dude! That much about girls, I DON'T want to   
know!"  
  
Sayuri said, "Don't you GUYS bother to listen to a girl? Ranma   
said she has to meet with the new principal, again."  
  
Yuka reported from the hallway outside the door, "If Ranma is,   
she's stopping off in the girls' room first."  
  
Sayuri cried, "Yuka! You don't say things like that in front of   
guys!!"   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
`  
Classroom 1-F was eating their lunches and goofing off in their   
various ways when Nabiki Tendou came in. Somehow she knew the   
teacher wouldn't be there.   
  
She knew Hiroshi and Daisuke, and it wasn't hard to find them. She   
approached the teens standing off to the side, assessing the girls,  
"You're Kaneda's friends, aren't you?"  
  
Daisuke Koyasu was a little disappointed by what he looked at her,   
"You're wearing the school's uniform again."  
  
Hiroshi Tsujitani said, "Even Nabiki Tendou has to surrender to   
the dress code."  
  
Nabiki had no intention of telling them the truth. She had only   
told everybody to ignore the dress code to draw attention to   
Ranma's Chinese clothes. And it had worked. That had been one of   
the conditions the teachers had gotten out of the new principal.   
Miss Hinako was now on notice that for them to recognize her as   
their principal, she would have to enforce the dress code. And   
that meant dresses for ALL girls.  
  
Nabiki said, "I DID say I could change the code. Well, that should   
argue against me having any special powers." And make for the   
perfect emotional tension about her: Can she, or can't she? It left   
them more off-balanced around her.  
  
Daisuke asked, suspiciously, "What ARE you here for? Gambling,   
or are you selling something?"  
  
Nabiki acted a little hurt, "Is money the ONLY thing you think I   
care about? What about family? I DO think of my little brother."  
  
Daisuke said, "Yes, he's told us what you think of him."  
  
Nabiki made to leave, "Okay, then, if you don't want to do come   
to the party we're having for Kaneda's fiancée!...."  
  
Hiroshi said, "For Ranma?!"  
  
Yuka, too, said, "A party for Ranma? What kind is it? A welcome   
to neighborhood party?!"  
  
Nabiki smiled. The final part of her grand scheme was about to fall   
into place. After this the profits could start coming. And the best   
part was that after she'd gotten made money on Ranma as a girl,   
she'd make money on Ranma as a guy. (Though there WERE reasons   
why she might not want to cash in on Ranma's male opportunity.)  
`  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
`  
Ranma-chan was approaching the strand of trees where,   
supposedly, the kid-principal still was. She was hurrying.   
Lunchtime was only 45 minutes. If she were lucky, though, she'd   
be able to get an excuse from the principal and miss the   
afternoon classes.  
  
But Ranma-chan was still thinking about the indignity of being a   
girl. ` The three minutes she'd struggled to do what she had to   
do in the girls' room had made her even MORE upset about having   
to stay in a girl's body. "I BETTER learn this technique!...And   
I BETTER not hafta be a girl to do it!...I'm gonna find a cure   
to this curse!! What a waste of pride it'd be, then! 'Cause,   
right now, NO technique's powerful enough for me to give up my   
manhood to use!" To LEARN was apparently another thing.  
  
Kane-chan up ahead called to her, "You're talking to yourself!   
Everybody can hear you!" She was in her schoolgirl's uniform.   
But she also had a canvass carpenter's apron on.  
  
Ranma-chan called back, "So what!! Your assassin sister's got   
people believing I'm half crazy, anyway!!"   
  
Kane-chan said, "Better half, than fully!"   
  
Ranma-chan noticed that the pre-cut planks, beams, siding,   
shingles, boxes of nails and spikes, tools and other stuff had   
already been delivered. The remarkable show of ability to get   
this done in such a short time made Ranma start to wonder about   
how deeply Kaneda was involved in Nabiki's scheming. Then,   
again, the family knew how to work quickly. It WAS only 5 days   
since she'd arrived at their house. "You're really enjoying this   
happenin' to me, ain'tcha!?!"  
  
Kane-chan told her, "No, I don't: Honest! But I do know you   
weren't happy with your life before you met me!"  
  
Ranma-chan told him, "I was happier than I am now!"   
  
Kane-chan said, "You haven't given yourself the chance to try   
being a girl!"  
  
Ranma-chan raised a fist, "That's, because, I'm, a, GUY!!"  
  
Approaching from the main building, Miss Hinako said, "I sense   
aggression!"  
  
Ranma-chan forced her fist to unclench. "Man! If I didn't think   
you might get the secret of her technique before me, I just   
might forget about my code about hittin' girls. Your sister's   
certainly pushed me to the limit!"  
  
Kane-chan was torn up inside, There is a way I could ease her   
pain. But even if *I* were ready to tell her, she's not ready to   
hear how changing her name to Kei Tendou could make her happier   
than being Ranma Saotome, girl...or guy.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
`  
Her job done, Nabiki left for her own classroom. Tsugako was   
waiting for her. She'd been acting as lookout. The taller girl   
with the long, curly hair and small eyes asked, "Did everything   
work out as you planned it?"  
  
Nabiki said, "So far. The party will provide the witnesses, and   
it won't cost our concern anything. I've explained things to my   
big sister. She understands as long as Ranma Saotome is known by   
everybody to be a girl, the two fathers can't marry either of us off   
to Ranma."  
  
Tsugako nodded, that much she understood, "You have legal proof   
that Ranma's father was FORCING Ranma to be a guy. As long as   
Ranma is a girl, the only one in your family she can marry is your   
brother, Kaneda. But what I don't understand is--"  
  
Nabiki glanced sideways at her associate, "What our cousin Kei   
Tendou has to do with this?" She put her eyes forward again.   
"Kasumi's only willing to help if there's a fair chance."  
  
Tsugako asked, " "Fair chance"?"  
  
Nabiki's mood was no longer so upbeat, "That's the problem with   
fair chances. There's a chance that after all your efforts to   
have the house odds you could still lose." She frowned, "You   
see, Kei Tendou CAN marry one of us."   
`  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Little Miss Hinako, still looking like an 8 or 9-year-old, had   
just returned from somewhere out of the school's compound. She   
had armfuls of junk food. But she said, "I didn't realize I   
would have to make decisions as the principal."  
  
Kane-chan told her, "Well, it's still the first day. From the   
way things I understand things were run under the old   
principals, the staff tried to avoid asking them anything. I'm   
sure they'll do their best to do without you."  
  
Miss Hinako smiled, "That's good. Then I can concentrate on   
what's important." Right then she was concentrating on finishing   
her tako taco.  
  
Ranma-chan said, humoring the brat, "And that would be, stoppin'   
delinquents?"  
  
Miss Hinako said, "No, silly. I told you I want to show   
everybody I can REFORM people. The purpose of any school should   
be to turn out MODEL citizens!" Model citizens apparently ate   
chewed on Pocky sticks while drinking the chocolate straight   
from the cup.  
  
Ranma-chan grumbled, "I don't like the sound of that." But   
biting back her rebellion, she concentrated on why she was   
putting up with being a girl, "Now, if we build you your tree   
house, will you tell us how you to that trick of yours?" She   
pulled out a paper napkin from the kid's load.  
  
Miss Hinako asked, "The "Happo 5-yen Satsu"?"  
  
Ranma-chan said, "Yes! That 5-yen statsu thing!" The kid looked   
like she was waiting for Ranma-chan to use the napkin for her.   
Since her arms were still full, Ranma did.  
  
Miss Hinako smiled, and said, "Okay!"  
  
Kane-chan said, "But we're going to build an PRINCIPAL'S office,   
right?"  
  
Miss Hinako said to herself, "That's right, I have to have an   
office like any other high school administrator."  
  
Ranma-chan cried, "In the TREES!?!" gesturing.   
  
Miss Hinako told her quite definitely, "Oh, yes! It has to be   
here! It can't be ANY place else!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Back in Classroom 1-F the 45-minute lunchtime was over with. It   
was now well into the 30-minute cleaning time. Furinkan's   
schedule was a lot like any elementary school in Japan. It was   
at this part in the day the teenagers disliked the comparison.   
And the fact that their homeroom teacher/tannin was there,   
making sure everybody was doing something. At least Mr. Egami   
let them talk among themselves as they did mostly busy-work.   
They weren't expected to be full of "I'll do my best!" spirit.  
  
Daisuke said, "Why isn't Kaneda here to help?" He was stacking   
desks.   
  
Sayuri said, "Why isn't RANMA here to help?" She was pushing   
loose things with her broom.  
  
Yuka was dusting with a rag, "I don't mind cleaning. It gives   
your mind a chance to rest!" Of course, she was dusting near   
where Hiroshi was cleaning erasers.  
  
Hiroshi said, "Maybe we shouldn't GO to Ranma's birthday party."  
  
Yuka said, "Not go to a girl's "Sweet Sixteen" party!?! Oh, we   
can't do that!"  
  
Sayuri said, "That's right! From what Nabiki told us, Ranma   
hasn't had hardly ANY parties!"  
  
Yuka said, "It breaks my heart to think of that poor girl's   
never had a birthday party before!"  
  
Daisuke said, "WHY is she having one, anyway!? Nabiki says   
Ranma's birthday has already gone: She was born April 1st!"  
  
Hiroshi told him, "That IS the point, stupid! She wasn't HERE   
when she had her birthday. She didn't have ANYBODY but her cruel   
and heartless dad with her on her birthday."  
  
Daisuke stopped stacking. "I THOUGHT you were on my side. I   
thought you didn't want to go any more than I do."  
  
Hiroshi did his best to sound sincere, "Well, Yuka's convinced   
me we should go."  
  
Daisuke did little to hide what he thought. He said to the guy   
allowing himself to be lead around on a leash, "Well, *I* don't   
want to go to a girl's birthday party!"  
  
Hiroshi told his dense friend, "But it IS a gir-ls party! As in   
there'll be GIRLS there?"  
  
Daisuke looked around the classroom; "Are there going to be any   
girls from outside this class?"  
  
Sayuri bumped her broom against Daisuke's shoes, getting him to   
move, "Only girls who don't KNOW you would go out with you!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
The frame of the tree house 2.5 meters off the ground was   
complete already. Kane-chan had hammered in the spikes through   
the beams and posts on the ground, and Ranma-chan pounded them   
in place using JUST a piece of scrap wood and the sides of her   
fist! The two of them were getting sweaty and where not at ALL   
concerned about their unladylike positions. (Indeed, besides   
trying to keep their boobs from moving around too much, Kane-  
chan kept pulling on her bra and panties, and Ranma-chan wished   
she could do something about her shiatsu corset.)  
  
Eating shrimp-flavored crackers, Miss Hinako was having second   
thoughts, "Perhaps I should hire MEN."  
  
Up in the tree Ranma-chan cried, "You want MEN?! We can give you   
men!!" She was straddling the beam that she'd just spiked into   
the one coming up at an angle from below. (And straddling   
reminded her what she as a girl had under her, between her   
legs.)  
  
Kane-chan had just hammered in the last support brace to the   
tree's trunk; "You have something against women doing a "man's   
job"!?!" She DIDN'T want to give Ranma-chan the excuse to become   
a guy. (Though her OWN feelings argued that she should become a   
guy herself.)  
  
Miss Hinako asked innocently, "Aren't most carpentry work done   
by men because they're better at it? They ARE stronger."  
  
Kane-chan told her, "But women have greater manual dexterity,   
and physical endurance, and--"  
  
Ranma-chan added, "And they can't stand being outdoors in the   
cold as much; they don't have the emotional endurance..."  
  
Kane-chan did her best to ignore the person who still had a   
thing against having to be a girl, "Miss Hinako, the male   
teachers in Japan GREATLY outnumber the female teachers. Does   
that mean they're better at being teachers?!" Again she repeated   
arguments she'd heard before from others.  
  
Miss Hinako stood up straight and proud, "Of course not! If   
anything, women SHOULD be favored when it comes to working with   
children!"  
  
Kane-chan said, "Well, close enough." She called up to Ranma-  
chan, "See!? Being a woman shouldn't keep you from doing   
anything!"  
  
Ranma-chan called back down, "YOU'RE one to talk!"  
  
Kane-chan started tossing up boards as fast as she could, "Let's   
see some of that Saotome speed put into a little UPPER body   
action. Arrange these planks on the joices!"  
  
Ranma-chan caught them, and was placing them faster than Kane-  
chan could give them up to her. But that didn't stop her from   
complaining, "What gives YOU the right to be the foreman!?!"  
  
Kane-chan told her, "The Tendou School uses TOOLS, remember?! I   
KNOW what I'm doing!"  
  
Ranma-chan mocked her, "But YOUR name is "Saotome", remember!?!"  
  
Kane-chan still smiled, "Which doesn't MEAN I haven't learned   
more from the Tendou School than the Saotome School!"  
  
Miss Hinako watched them while she ate her caramel yam-on-a-  
stick, "Those two girls are acting like boys. They argue, but   
their battle auras aren't very heated. If it wasn't for the   
tremendous fighting spirit that wants to explode from Miss RANMA   
Saotome I'd say it was like they were only competitive rivals."   
Miss Hinako nodded, and dropped her half-eaten treat.  
  
She took two large donuts from a box.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kane-chan had joined Ranma-chan. She had climbed up on the   
platform of loose planks that would become the tree office's   
floor. Both of them were kneeling near the center of the   
platform. She told Ranma-cha, "Watch what I do, and I'll show   
you "Tendou Martial Arts Carpentry"!"  
  
Ranma-chan snorted, "Hhnnh! I'll just bet. It'd BETTER be out of   
the ordinary, if we're gonna get this dumb place done before--"  
  
Kane-chan licked her fingertips, "Make sure your fingers are   
wet..."   
  
Ranma-chan grumbled, "As if we don't get wet enough."   
  
Kane-chan took a handful of nails, "The trick is to use Western-  
style nails, with flat heads. The larger the better." She put   
the nails in her mouth.  
  
Ranma-chan said, "Well, That's ONE thing I like about it   
already: It makes it harder for you to talk."   
  
Kane-chan leaned over in her school dress and blouse and stuck a   
thumb in her mouth. With the saliva keeping the nail in place,   
she brought it over where the floor joice was. She then shoved   
the nail down until it stuck in the wood, and stood up on its   
own. She repeated the process down the plank.  
  
Ranma-chan had been kneeling in place, watching, though   
frowning, "Doesn't that hurt your fingers?"  
  
Kane-chan challenged her, "How much of a martial artist are you?   
Of COURSE it hurts, but it's nothing compared to some pain we   
have to go through. Think of it as strengthening and toughening   
your fingers, hands and arms." Of course, applying a little   
"Tendou Upper-Body Whip-Crack" makes it a whole lot easier! But   
she's not going to appreciate MY school until she has to ask to   
learn its secrets.  
  
Kane-chan then took a scrap board and set it on top of the nails   
sticking out of the floorboards. She used one of her wooden   
mallets to hammer the scrap dead center, then jumped out to the   
ends, then back closer to the center. In less than 30 seconds   
she had the scrap down level with the floorboards, all of the   
nails driven in straight.   
  
Ranma-chan again snorted, "Hnh! With MY speed and strength, we   
should get this place done in almost no time."  
  
Kane-chan told her, "Don't forget the manual dexterity. Without   
that the nails going in right, they'll be a hazard. Not to   
mention the room will be rickety!" The Ranma had already made   
the posts a little out of plumb.  
  
Ranma-chan said, "Yeah, yeah!" as she dropped a handful of nails   
into her mouth.   
  
Kane-chan crossed her arms, and kneeled back to watch. Ranma-  
chan tried to get as many nails sticking to as many fingers of   
one hand as she could. She would get two, three at most over to   
where they were supposed to be. The rest of the nails would drop   
off along the way. The nails were not evenly or efficiently   
spaced. But Kane-chan held back her comments. Ranma was   
stubborn. She would have to find out these things for herself.   
Kane-chan thought, Until Ranma DOES think of it as a   
martial arts event, she won't take it seriously. She's been   
brainwashed to think only something to do with fighting is   
worth her attention.  
  
Ranma-chan got a raggedy line of nails over the floor joice on   
her side of the platform. Spitting out the last of the nails in   
her mouth, Ranma-chan shook her hand, "Oow! That DOES hurt! How   
many more times are we gonna have to do this??"  
  
Kane-chan was ready to speak to her, "That's where a woman's   
endurance comes in. They can put up with pain better than men."  
  
Ranma-chan couldn't take her seriously at all, "If you want to   
be an advocate for Women's Lib, then WHY don't you stay a girl!"   
She picked up her own scrap board to pound on.  
  
Kane-chan said, "Because this is Japan! You can't kick, scream   
and claw your way up the ladder! It's hard enough for MEN to be   
accepted doing jobs they aren't certified or born to do."  
  
Ranma-chan said, "And you want ME to put up with that, when you   
can't!? Ayiiya!!" Instead of using a hammer, Ranma-chan used   
both fists and forearms to pound the scrap board down onto the   
nails all at once.   
  
Kane-chan glowered at the girl; even doing something she hadn't   
done before, but Kane-chan HAD, Ranma-chan had still found a way   
to be better! "I thought you just MIGHT be tougher than I am!"  
  
Ranma-chan lifted the scrap board and looked at her sloppy line   
of nails; they were flush with the floor, though. Any part of   
the nail or head that wanted to stick out had been pressed into   
the planks. "That kind of tough life I DON'T want."  
  
On her side, Kane-chan carefully slid to the floor planks that   
were still loose. She told her, "Think of all the women you   
could help who are not as strong and determined as you! You'd   
show the men and inspire the women!"  
  
Ranma was about to put the nails in her mouth, "Right: A girl   
who thinks like a guy! It's gotta be their own fault they're OWN   
fault they allowed themselves to be on the bottom!" She started   
spitting out nails.  
  
Kane-chan nearly choked on her own mouthful of nails. Rather   
than help Ranma take up the challenge of being a girl, what   
Ranma had said only reinforced her OWN determination not to be a   
girl. Win Ranma-chan or lose her, being a guy had GOT to be   
better than being a girl. A wife was expected to be a HELPMATE;   
a mother was expected to be care for the kids: But WHAT kind of   
help and care did THEY get!!   
  
Then, again, the female principle, Yin, WAS dark and negative!   
  
She put her anger to proving just how much of a guy she was: The   
TENDOU School would be the winner at Martial Arts Carpentry!!  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kane-chan had put away her wooden mallet. She had learned to do   
Ranma's trick with the two fists and forearms. And she'd almost   
become as good at driving the nails into the planks. But she   
wasn't as strong as Ranma-chan! She had to go back and finish   
getting the nails flush with the mallet against the scrap board.   
  
And she was losing the race, too! They had moved beyond the   
floorboards and were moving the planks up the posts. The walls   
were rising fast, and Ranma's faster than HERS!  
  
An adult, and sexy, woman's voice called up to them from the   
ground, "Oh, girls! Don't go any higher with the walls! I want   
to be surrounded by windows!" Ranma-chan was still putting up   
boards and driving nails in behind Kane-chan.  
  
Kane-chan looked over the railing high wallboards. "Miss   
Hinako!?! Is that you?!" It certainly looked like the busty   
woman that had sent Kaneda swooning (and from this angle above   
her, Kane-chan had a VERY good view of her cleavage). ...Could a   
woman with THAT fantastic a figure possibly eat many donuts?  
  
Well, maybe not. Miss Hinako wasn't eating the donuts. She was   
casually holding a donut in each hand, with the holes up. If   
Kane-chan had been aware of how her powers work, she would have   
noticed that the holes were aimed at Ranma-chan. Miss Hinako   
wasn't interested in draining energy, just siphoning the excess   
off. And Ranma's anger over what had happened to her, made into   
rage by what NABIKI Tendou's character assassination this   
morning gave the battle aura eater more than enough to sustain   
her adult form. It also had relieved a great deal of all that   
pressure building up inside Ranma. And that had allowed Ranma-  
chan to put her energy to CONSTRUCTIVE, if sloppy, use.  
  
The woman called back to Kane-chan, "Yes, it's me: Miss Hinako!   
Did you hear me?! I said my office must have plenty of windows!"  
  
Kane-chan glanced away from the beautiful woman long enough to   
remind her what she already knew: There was hardly any view at   
all. On all sides of her office in the tree there were trees   
that blocked her views of the main building and the playing   
fields. Kane-chan brought eyes back on the attractive woman, "I   
didn't order any windows. If the walls stay this low, it'll look   
like you're in a forest ranger's tower."  
  
The sexy woman said, amused, "That's alright. I'm HERE to put   
out the fires."  
  
Kane-chan wondered how much of a damper she WOULD be putting on   
the school's teenage hormones. Well, KANEDA wouldn't mind her   
being a wet blanket. And Kaneda wouldn't mind her being a wet   
blanket on Ranma, either, wet as in curse, that is.   
  
Kane-chan turned around, "Ranma! Did you hear what Miss...."   
Ranma-chan had already covered her side of the office wall in   
planks and was already working on the ceiling. And she, being   
Ranma, had to do things differently from ordinary people:   
  
Leaning a plank end against the wall, Ranma-chan was pushing the   
nails in with her knuckles now. She then took the plank and   
jumped up to the ceiling beam. There she slammed her scrap board   
against the nails sticking out of the plank, driving it into the   
beam. The floorboards bent and wiggled as she landed, but this   
proved that the floor was sturdy enough to support even this.  
  
Miss Hinako, especially, had to wonder at the energy the Ranma   
girl had! That intensity of energy left her with no doubt that   
the time would come, and come soon, when she would have to   
discipline Ranma Saotome. Miss Hinako knew that she could not go   
easy on the girl with a man's fighting spirit. Indeed, "Ranma   
Saotome may just be the biggest challenge I've ever faced."  
  
Meanwhile, Kane-chan was still staring at how Ranma's boobs   
bounced and wobbled and jiggled this way and that way. If she   
had been a guy she probably would've kept her mouth shut and   
enjoyed the show. But, being a girl, she was reminded of what it   
was like to have boobs (and other fat deposits that moved over   
the body). "Aren't you getting terribly bruised? It can't be fun   
having them flip-flop around like that."  
  
Ranma-chan bellowed, "TELL me about it!!" pouncing straight at   
her.  
  
Kane-chan bailed: She dove out the open "window" beside her.   
  
Kane-chan was more concerned about hugging her arms against her   
own boobs, than the show of her polka dot panties. She landed on   
her slippers near Miss Hinako.   
  
Ranma-chan gripped plank at the opening in the wall, and   
threatened, "I'll finish the rest WITHOUT your comments!!"  
  
As Ranma-chan went back to work on her own, Kane-chan vowed to   
come back and fix things while Ranma wasn't around. And I have   
the satisfaction of having already slipped in a few of my booby   
traps. It looks like Ranma doesn't know enough about carpentry   
to know she'd help build them for me. They SHOULD come in   
handy.  
  
Miss Hinako said, "Miss Akane, come with me. I want to show you   
what needs to be done, now."  
  
Kane-chan nodded, "Yes, Ma'am." She would've felt stupid saying   
the to a little kid, but it came out naturally with this woman.  
  
Miss Hinako stopped in front of one of the trees that would   
block her view of things. She took out a piece of chalk. She   
lowered and raised her other hand until it was above her navel.   
She brought that hand over to the tree trunk and marked the same   
height. "There! That ought to be about heart level."  
  
Kane-chan thought, "Heart level"? Yeah, for a kid --That's it!   
It IS for when she's a kid!  
  
Miss Hinako then pointed to a spot at her adult heart's level.   
She then made an estimate higher up, from the tree house over to   
the same tree. "And one about that height!" She then turned her   
eyes onto Kane-chan, "I want holes put in this tree." She   
gestured around her, "I want holes put in ALL of these trees!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
`  
As luck would have it, Dr. Tofu Ono had had to deal with an   
emergency. The patients he saw the most often were of course   
elderly. Mrs. Baba was not one of them. She was the terror of   
the neighborhood, a living caricature of a bitter, mean old   
woman. And for somebody who claimed they were half-crippled, she   
was as effective as any martial artist with her cane.   
  
That had been what had delayed him on his trip to the temple.   
This had been her worst rampage yet. No one had been hurt   
seriously, at least. Almost all of the injuries in fact had come   
when people scrambled to get out of her way. They had had to   
wait until he dealt with Mrs. Baba. She had fought like she was   
possessed by a demon.  
  
That was because she was. It had taken him several retreats   
and tries before the doctor found the correct shiatsu points that   
sealed the demon inside.  
  
As Dr. Tofu lifted the limp woman in his arms he was addressed   
by another old man, "Perhaps I have a ward that will release the   
demon from the woman."  
  
It was Mr. Priestess Ryoushin of the Temple of the Nine   
Abilities. "I will tell you that it HAS been a while since I did   
any exorcising. We tend to stay within the Temple." He laughed   
to himself, "That's where we can best exercise our talents."  
  
The doctor heard about the old man; he respectfully refrained   
from indulging him, "I understand. You prime duty is to guard   
the Temple and its contents." But the aura the demon emitted   
probably attracted him on one of his excursions outside.  
  
The old man approached with handful of paper wards. "What kind   
of a demon do you think it is?"  
  
Dr. Ono found a bench to lay Mrs. Baba down on. It was beneath a   
large mirror on a pole. It's polished surface allowed people to   
see what was coming around the corner in the road. The doctor   
told the priest, "I would say the demon feeds off of her   
resentment." He straightened up, "At lest that's what I used to   
seal it in."  
  
The old man shook his head sadly, "Yes, I see it, now. Such a   
negative emotion to mar such a cute face."  
  
Dr. Tofu was one to not judge by appearances, but this old man   
acted like he actually could see the twisted old woman's beauty.   
"Uh, the story is when she was a young woman, she had to choose   
between a career and marriage."  
  
The old priest shook his head, "An all too common story. But the   
stories *I* hear end with the woman finding happiness in giving   
it all up for the sake of a family." He placed one of the pieces   
of paper with the written prayer on Mrs. Baba's forehead.  
  
Dr. Tofu filled him in on what the neighborhood knew of her,   
"Even though her husband loved her, he did not understand her.   
He continued to treat her the way he had before their arranged   
marriage. Worse, her nagging and fighting only drove him to his   
old girlfriends. Her battles with them didn't end, either."  
  
The old priest held up his gohei stick with the pieces of paper   
on strings. "Yes, men are idiots." He laughed, "I know: I used   
to be like that myself! I was a champion girl hunter before my   
dear Hani-chan put me under the goddess Benten's spell." He   
chanted and waved his exorcism wand.  
  
Dr. Tofu was about to say something when he noticed red wisp   
surrounded by a dark blue aura leave the woman's open mouth. The   
sleeping woman visibly relaxed.  
  
The old man squatted, "Oh, that wears an old man out. I need to   
rest a moment."  
  
Dr. Tofu continued to look at the woman. "The demon is gone, but   
the feelings remain."  
  
The old priest glanced at her, "She should have been more of a   
Buddhist." He looked away, "She should have been more of a   
woman."  
  
Dr. Tofu said, "Surely you don't suggest it is the woman who   
must make all of the sacrifices?"  
  
Groaning a bit, the old man rose, "No, but isn't that how it   
usually works out? A woman's brain is build differently. They   
have better "people skills"." He smiled, "And I don't mean the   
kind that makes men political leaders."  
  
Dr. Tofu said, "Is that why you put the shiatsu corset on   
Ranma? So that Ranma would stay a woman long enough to   
use her brain?"  
  
The old priest said, "I hope you didn't take it off?"  
  
Dr. Tofu said, "I did, until I heard who had done it. I then put   
it back until I heard from you why you did it to the poor kid."  
  
The priest smiled, "Karma!"  
  
Dr. Tofu was not amused, "Karma is a Buddhist concept."  
  
The old man's smile broadened, "You know we Japanese can be both   
a Shintoist and a Buddhist." He chuckled, "I even know the   
rituals to the Christian sacraments. (Of course I do it for a   
different reason than their priests.)" He started to do a small   
jig, "But my specialty is love. I'm in love with the idea of   
love!"  
  
Dr. Tofu paled, "You mean Ranma and, and Kasumi?" He bowed his   
head. "If that is what will make her the happiest. --Ow!"  
  
The old man had shot a pebble out of his bamboo blowgun; it had   
struck him between the eyes. "As I said, men can be idiots.   
  
"It is better to have loved and lost, than to have loved and won   
the booby prize! Karma has given Ranma and KANEDA a chance few   
others have. They can come to see both sexes AS both sexes. Once   
they accept that, they can learn to accept the other sex. Unlike the   
rest of us, they will be able to agree which sex they will be   
for the other. And appreciating that can make all the   
difference."  
  
Dr. Tofu said, "But Ranma resents and is repulsed by what's   
being forced on him!"  
  
The old man said, "Trauma and stress will do that. It will take   
time. Kaneda HAS had a head start of 16 years to get used to the   
idea he could become a girl. It has only been weeks for Ranma.   
It WOULD be easier if he had to stay a girl. But it would not be   
fair."  
  
He turned a serious eye on the doctor, "And without it being HIS   
choice, his soul would never be fully accept it. Deep down, he   
would always resent his fate."  
  
The doctor nodded, "Yes. I see that, now. Kaneda has been raised   
to think like a guy. He, too, would resent having to become the   
girl without agreeing to it. She definitely would want Ranma to   
appreciate what she'd done for him."  
  
The old priest nodded, "Only then could she be satisfied being the   
wife and mother."  
  
Dr. Tofu still had his doubts, "But there will ALWAYS be that   
accusation in the back of their minds. They will know that they   
had to give up the gender the other enjoyed."  
  
The old priest said, "A true man and a true woman knows that is   
what they were meant to be. I will provide you with a technique   
that seals away the small doubts they have left. But the   
knowledge of what they learned will make them a better man and a   
better woman." He grinned, "In fact, the more they fight now,   
the less they'll fight then. Because they will definitely  
establish WHAT kind the man or woman would best please each   
other."  
  
  
The End of this chapter   
  
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FavoritesAdd Author to Author Alert 1. Default Chapter2. 02: Ranma's   
Girl Problem3. 03: School is No Place for Challenges4. 04: Hot Water5.   
05: The Tendou Trick6. 06: The Answer7. 07: Taihen Beef8. 08: A Sight   
Best Not Beheld9. 09: May The Goddess Bless10. 10: A Doll For Two11. 11:   
Go Ahead, Try to Take Her12. 12: Check Mate13. 13: Tomobiki the 13th14.   
14: When Martial Artists Assemble!15. 15: Fight Karma with Karma 


	16. 16: Blood, Sweat, and Torn Clothes

Ranma & Kaneda  
By Ron Dow75  
  
16: Blood, Sweat, and Torn Clothes  
  
[I've changed Ch. 15 to "Fight Karma with Karma". The   
Kasumi storyline is gone.]  
  
  
Ranma-chan had had enough jumping up and down. That was   
how she'd put all the boards in the ceiling. Gently   
cradling her tender boobs with an arm, she looked around   
for the way out. That was when she realized that they'd   
forgotten to put in a door, or even a doorframe. There   
were the two long openings along two of the walls with   
only the posts to show where the window frames could be.   
That was the way out Akane had took when Ranma had   
threatened her.  
  
Ranma-chan groaned. It was only 2.5 meters/7.5 feet or so   
off the grassy ground, but just the thought of jumping   
DOWN even further than she had been doing with her sore   
boobs was more than she could take. She was a martial   
artist; pain wasn't the issue. It was WHAT would be   
hurting again.  
  
Ranma-chan saw that she had two planks with nails in them   
left. All of that practice she'd gotten had allowed her   
to find the best way to drive the nails in deeply into   
the wood with her bare hands. "I'm gonna have to see if I   
can get to the point where I can just throw them in."   
Then she thought to herself, "Nah, I probably haven't   
reached that level, YET." She emphasized that "yet",   
because she was certain that one day she would reach   
master level.   
  
Ranma-chan said, "I'd get there a LOT sooner, once I   
learn that kid Miss Hinako's chi techniques!" Only THAT   
is what had kept her a girl. It had nothing to do with   
Akane. Her head went back to the window, "SHE'S out there   
now with that brat principal! She's trying to beat me to   
the techniques!" Then she grumbled, "As if she really   
could get better 'n me." But there was a tinge of doubt.   
  
Ranma-chan went to the planks with nails. Using her   
instep only, she flipped first one, then the other   
towards the front of the completed interior. They fell   
right where she wanted them to, across a section of   
floorboards, over their joists.   
  
Screaming her battle cry, "Hyaiii!" she jumped with and   
on the scrap board. The planks and their nails were   
tramped in place.   
  
Replacing the arm that held her boobs in place with her   
left, Ranma-chan kneeled on one of the planks. Taking aim   
at the floorboards between the two planks, she commented,   
"Every tree house needs a trapdoor."  
  
A stronger battle cry, a couple of blows and the trapdoor   
opening was almost complete. The floorboards between the   
planks and juices broke straight and evenly because of   
Ranma's skill at karate.   
  
Shifting the weight of her hooters around under her arm,   
she told herself, "Just one more blow, and I can use a   
long plank to jog--"  
  
One of Kane-chan's triggered traps was set off: Ranma   
yelled as she was catapulted out the window she HADN'T   
wanted to leave by!  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Ranma's had a huge well of natural chi. She just hadn't   
learned how to release it properly, yet, for much of   
anything but mid-air maneuvers. These air-shaping powers   
she used to avoid breaking through the ceiling she'd just   
put up, and, then, aim herself.   
  
Ranma landed on Kane-chan.  
  
Kane-chan had been using a brace-and-bit drill to bore a   
hole into a tree for Miss Hinako.   
  
Now Kane-chan was squashed boobs-down on the ground with   
Ranma-chan on top of her.   
  
And though Ranma had done that much, all she could bring   
herself to do was clench her fists and threaten the girl,   
"I know you it was your fault!!"  
  
The tall and beautiful Miss Hinako told Ranma-chan, "Miss   
Ranma! Workplace accidents DO happen! Get off of Miss   
Akane before I put you in detention!" She used their   
first names because both of them said their last name was   
Saotome.  
  
"Miss" Ranma looked up at the grownup brat. There was   
still a look of defiance on her cute face. Detention was   
no threat to HER. She'd had that or worse in just about   
every school she'd been in. That is where they tried to   
cage the outsider.  
  
But in all of the travels she and Pop had endured the   
last ten years, of all the masters they'd petitioned to   
teach them their secrets, this appeared to be the closest   
she had yet come to learning true chi techniques. But HOW   
important was becoming a true martial artist master   
compared to her pride as a man!?! Her current craving to   
be a man!  
  
Ranma-chan rose quickly in one motion. Hands together,   
she bowed deeply and smiled sweetly, "I am sorry, Miss   
Hinako! I'll try not to let my naughty temper get the   
better of me again." Man!! She even gave herself a   
girlish voice.  
  
Miss Hinako was aware of Ranma's male-like aura of   
stubbornness and violence. But the longest journey began   
with one step. Hinako HAD dedicated her life to working   
with delinquents in need of reform. "Alright, Miss Ranma,   
now apologize to Miss Akane, and help her to her feet."  
  
"Miss" Akane was already helping herself to her own feet,   
"That's okay, Miss Hinako, I can do it myself!"  
  
Little Miss Ranma said syrupy, "Nonsense, Miss Akane! I,   
because of an 'accident' (which I KNOW you're responsible   
for), knocked you down; it is only RIGHT I help you up!"   
She demonstrated just how strong she was by lifting her   
up, squeezing Kane-chan's bare biceps just a might too   
hard.  
  
When Kane-chan's feet touched the ground, she said,   
"Thank you! NOW can I get back to doing what Miss Hinako   
asked me to do?!"  
  
Right now, to Miss Ranma the name Miss Hinako was like   
"Master" to a genie. Ranma looked at the drill dropped to   
the ground. She said, "Oo, that will take too long! We   
need a faster way to...uh, do whatever our Miss Hinako   
WANTS us to do!" Ranma-chan tried to remind herself of   
all of humiliations she and other pupils over the ages   
had had to endure to learn from their masters. This was   
just another form of hazing. Anything can be martial   
arts training...' just gotta keep remindin' yourself   
that.  
  
Picking up the drill, Kane-chan the accomplished   
carpenter asked indignantly. She motioned to those chalk   
X's Miss Hinako had gotten around to using her power to   
position for best affect. "Do YOU have a martial arts   
solution? She wants holes through ALL of these trees   
around her office."   
  
Ranma-chan said, "Is THAT all! Sure I, uh.... Well, not   
yet." She looked around for one, "But it HAS to involve   
something long enough to through a tree."  
  
Kane-chan told her, "All we have like that are these   
pipes for scaffolding."  
  
Ranma-chan asked her, "What are you doing with METAL   
scaffolding? Isn't most of that in Japan done with   
bamboo?!"  
  
Kane-chan said, "And if we did use bamboo, your dad might   
just eat it all!"  
  
Ranma-chan was about to say something, but didn't. It was   
ridiculous, but it was also possible with the panda's   
appetite.  
  
Kane-chan told her the truth, "My supplier let me try it   
because he didn't get enough orders for the pipe."  
  
Ranma-chan picked one of the pipes up, studying it; "Now   
we just need to put enough force behind it to ram it   
through the tree."  
  
Miss Hinako said, "*I* can supply that."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kane-chan finished speed filing the end of one of the   
pipes. "Here, Ranma, I admit you're the better martial   
artist," she said, handing it to her.  
  
Miss Hinako said Miss Ranma, "No, a little more to the   
right. I want this first hole aligned with that playing   
field. Sports activities bring out people's natural   
battle lusts and auras, wouldn't you say?"   
  
Ranma-chan put the sharpened end of the pipe up against   
the trunk where she'd been directed to, above her own   
heart level. "Yes; of course, I've never been a team   
player."  
  
Miss Hinako said, "Oh, really?! How sad." Sounding more   
like her little girl self, she sounded sympathetic. The   
adult returned to direct, "Press that board up against   
the other end and hold it in place. Use both hands. No,   
stand directly in front of it."  
  
Ranma-chan leaned against the board, "Okay. Now what?"  
  
The adult Miss Hinako made a circle with her fingers,   
"Happo Change Returned!"   
  
Her narrowed, concentrated blast of chi energy struck   
Ranma's core, redhead's trunk, limbs and head. It excited   
Ranma's own chi and exploded it away from the more potent   
source, Miss Hinako.  
  
Ranma's chi was powerful: She was propelled violently   
forward. Only her skill and strength kept Ranma-chan's   
arms from bending.   
  
She didn't slam to a stop until the other end of the pipe   
had been driven out the other side of the tree.  
  
Ranma-chan crumpled to the ground, the two parts of the   
split board still in her hands above her breasts.  
  
Kane-chan yelled at the now horrid and reckless kid,   
Hinako, "Why did you do that for!!?! She might be hurt!"   
running to check on Ranma-chan.  
  
Little Miss Hinako grew up quickly. She siphoned the   
energy of the people on the playing field through the   
pipe through the tree. "My attacks only hurt those who   
are truly destructive."  
  
Kane-chan kneeled beside Ranma-chan, checking her neck's   
pulse and her forehead temperature, "You don't think   
being blown up against something's is going to HURT   
something!!? What if the pipe had broken through the   
board!!"  
  
Miss Hinako said confidently, "Miss Ranma has a very   
strong spirit. She would survive a simple accident like   
that."  
  
Ranma-chan had finally recovered enough to try to get up   
with her fists, "Y, you couldn't have, have done it a,   
another way!?"  
  
Miss Hinako said, "The only time my techniques work on   
non-living things is when I get very upset."  
  
Ranma-chan got to her feet; her blood was returning to   
her body, especially her eyes, "You brat!! You DID do   
that on, on purpose!!"  
  
Kane-chan gripped at the back of her shirt, "Ranma,   
you're here to LEARN from Miss Hinako! You DON'T want to   
get her "very upset"!"  
  
Miss Hinako said in a tone that was both a pledge and a   
threat, "I do my best to keep from getting upset. It's   
not a very pretty sight when I am."  
  
Ranma-chan cried, "And NEITHER am I!!!" Her battle energy   
was rapidly building back up.  
  
Miss Hinako held up a coin, "Happo 50-yen--" She suddenly   
stopped her attack. "That's right. I have absorbed a lot   
of energy already."  
  
Ranma-chan gloated, "Ha! A weakness in your technique!   
And what happens if you DO get too much aura like   
that!?!"  
  
Kane-chan suggested, "She overloads and blows the excess   
back at you?" She reminded her, "--Like what happened in   
Assembly Hall this morning!?" Miss Hinako had taken in   
not battle aura but weaker battle lust--but it had been   
of hundreds!  
  
Ranma-chan told them, "I'm about ready to blow myself!!"  
  
Kane-chan got in front of Ranma-chan, and put her hands   
on the pigtailed girl's shoulders. But she looked over   
her own shoulder at Miss Hinako, "Perhaps you'd better   
hire professions to finish up for you, Miss Hinako."  
  
Miss Hinako nodded, "Yes. That WAS what I had originally   
intended to do. Men would do a better job."  
  
Ranma-chan screamed, "Oh!!? How many men can take the   
abuse you've given ME!!?!!"   
  
Kane-chan leaped up into Ranma-chan's arms. She got her   
strongest "Clinging-to-a-Statue" hold. She told her,   
"You're going to have to tear me apart before I'll let   
you harm our, MASTER!"  
  
Ranma-chan growled, loudly. "MASTER! Yeah, right! How   
stupid!" to have a master like THIS brat! But Akane was   
right. What had happened was nothing compared to some of   
the things his sensei Pop had done to her. And Hinako's   
techniques WERE just too tempting to louse up the chance   
to have them for her own.  
  
Like having a wad of food stuck in her throat, Ranma-chan   
swallowed her pride. For another time!   
  
Miss Hinako told them, "I give you permission to go to   
the clean up thoroughly. You girls are perspiring too much   
for ladies."  
  
Ranma-chan cried, "Hey!! What about your promise to tell   
us your secret!?!!"  
  
The very poised woman told them, "I will keep my promise.   
I will tell you EXACTLY how to gain my techniques. But I   
will only reveal my most important secrets to GOOD   
girls." She looked at Ranma levelly and seriously, "The   
first lesson IS called "Good Girl Exercise Step One"."  
  
Ranma's growl could be seen but not heard. Here was   
another temporary defeat for his male self.   
  
Acting Principal Ninomiya said, "I have things to do,   
now. Miss Akane, you will see that Miss Ranma is properly   
washed and presentable for her next class?"   
  
Kane-chan wasn't comfortable with the idea of being alone   
with Ranma at the moment. "Uh, Akane Saotome doesn't GO   
to this school! She's--I'm not registered!"  
  
The woman pulled a pass out of one the pockets hidden in   
her now very short, yellow dress. "Here. This will give   
you permission to use the school's facilities."  
  
She then challenged Miss Ranma with a stare, "I shall ask   
your teachers if Miss Ranma had ALSO freshened herself   
up. Tomorrow we shall talk about her wearing the school   
uniform." She then turned to go on her business, "I have   
started a ledger book on your merits and demerits, Miss   
Saotome." There was no doubt which Miss Saotome she   
meant.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Ranma-chan stormed toward the long, concrete sink with   
several taps out near the gym building, "How can I   
"freshen up" when there's only sinks!!?!" He had heard   
that unlike Japanese schools Western schools had gym   
showers.   
  
Keeping a wary eye on her, Kane-chan trotted after Ranma-  
chan, "Go ahead; don't take a clean up. This IS Japan. We   
don't care if a girl wears the same clothes after taking   
a bath. Hey, she can even wear those clothes days in a   
row. We don't care that much what a girl smells like.   
It's just MISS Hinako that seems to care." Will this   
work? It IS weak reverse psychology. "Maybe she'll   
settle for you wearing perfume."   
  
Ranma-chan told her, "Me!!?"  
  
Kane-chan said, "How hot do you think the water IS? One   
splash and I'm a guy again." And thanks to Kasumi, I'll   
be wearing out of this dress just as fast. "It's like   
I've been saying to you, because it's harder to become a   
guy, stay a girl."  
  
Ranma-chan turned on one of the taps, "No! I'm stayin' a   
guy, no matter how hard the curse makes it--And I AIN'T   
wearin' anything but Chinese clothes!!"   
  
Kane-chan smiled, "Then I'LL get Miss Hinako's   
techniques. I can wear either uniform." Though I LIKE   
getting out of the girls' as soon as I can.  
  
Ranma-chan she put her wet hand in the armhole of her   
sleeveless shirt, "I'll show her I AM a guy!" The other   
hand went under the shirt's bottom.  
  
Kane-chan watched her trying to clean her boobs and torso   
without soap, "Miss Hinako already thinks you're a GIRL   
that needs to be reformed. If you want to learn her "Good   
Girl Exercises", she's going to want to see you being   
one."  
  
Again the definitions that defined Ranma clashed: Martial   
artist vs. man!  
  
Suddenly Ranma-chan remembered, "Our class is scheduled   
to have P.E. next period!! --Ow!" One hand had been on a   
still tender boob when it spasmed.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kane-chan followed Ranma-chan as she headed for the main   
building, "Are you going to skip, like you did all but   
one day last week?" Though I guess you didn't go to the   
last class of Friday.  
  
Ranma-chan told her, "No!! And I ain't gonna wear   
burumas, either! I'm gonna wear my OWN, GUY gym clothes!"   
At least the P.E. teacher'd like that better than her   
showing up in his street clothes.  
  
Kane-chan said, "So, you think as long as your only   
demerits are for wearing guys' clothes, Miss Hinako won't   
force you to become a girl too fast?"  
  
Ranma-chan told her, "Something like that. Thanks."   
Because she hadn't gotten that far in planning her excuse   
for showing up, again, out of yet another uniform. HER   
plan had been to just show up and deal with what happens   
after that.  
  
Kane-chan told her, "Only one problem with that idea.   
With all that's happened you haven't gotten any gym   
clothes yet."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Kane-chan stopped when Ranma-chan went pass girls' locker   
room and for the guys'. "Ranma, you're not going to STEAL   
a uniform!"  
  
Ranma-chan went in, "I'm borrowing it! It's not stealing,   
if they're not using it."  
  
Ranma-chan really didn't expect any guys in the locker   
room. It did look empty. The clock inside told her what   
she already had judged by the sun: The fifth period gym   
class wouldn't be back for a while.   
  
She went down the locker doors. The third one was the   
charm. And it did have guys' sweats! She looked at the   
body covering short-sleeved shirt and long pants. "That's   
more like it."  
  
She didn't dawdle, but then neither did she hurry   
shucking her sweaty clothes. While she was unfastening   
her red silk shirt with one hand, she was untying the   
white ribbon that held up her black silk pants. "I don't   
mind showin' the body, but why do it if you're not   
showin' off?" She was shrugging out of her shirt while   
she pulled down both her pants and boxers. "And why would   
I want to show off the body I'm not proud of?" Bringing   
in each arm through its hole while the other held the   
shirt, she bent over to take off the red elastic hair   
bands that held her baggy pants legs around her ankles.   
  
Suddenly her danger sense kicked in! Ranma-chan half-spun   
as she leaped back to put herself in the defend/attack   
position. But her right foot was briefly caught until the   
elastic band snapped free, releasing the foot. Meanwhile,   
her surefootedness was broken by the brief, UNWELCOME   
thought that she was, maybe, seen as a naked girl in a   
guys' locker room.  
  
Ranma-chan stumbled, and fell against the lockers. She   
landed on her padded butt, her raised knees falling   
apart. Still, her hands were out to strike whoever was--   
  
Blood was sprayed over her naked boobs.  
  
Ranma-chan was about to accuse, "Kane--" Then she saw the   
very pale, half-skeleton of a guy standing in a locker.   
He'd been frozen by the sight of a girl in the locker   
room, and THEN the girl undressing before his nose blew.   
(Blood was dripping heavily from his nose.)  
  
Hiraku Gosunkugi stared at the naked girl staring at him.   
Suddenly he became frightened. "I'm sorry!!" he yelped as   
he slammed the locker door shut.   
  
Ranma-chan sat up, wondering, "I was afraid of that??"   
She reflexively wiped at the blood. "Why would I be   
warned about HIM!?" Her hand and soft and jiggling boobs   
reminded her that she didn't have her normal muscular   
chest. "Disgusting!" she said taking her hand away the   
curses.  
  
Gosunkugi cried, "I'm sorry!!" from inside his locker.  
  
Ranma-chan saw her hand was smeared with, "Blood. THAT'S   
what my senses were noticin'."  
  
Suddenly, those same senses warned of an attack from   
another direction.  
  
Blood again!  
  
Ranma-chan cried, "KANEDA!"  
  
Kaneda was dripping blood over HIS boys' uniform, now. "I   
THOUGHT I was prepared to see you, uh, like this."  
  
The cute redhead looked down at her red spotted and   
smeared mounds. "In all my battles up till now, I don't   
think I've ever seen this much blood."  
  
(Gosunkugi cried, "I'm sorry!")  
  
Kaneda looking away for something for his nose, said,   
"This blood's nothing." Don't tell her that! I don't   
think Ranma's ready to hear about periods. Better leave   
that to a real girl like Kasumi.  
  
Ranma-chan got up, grumbling, "I never got this kinda   
Bloody attention before." She picked her things with her.  
  
Finding a small towel for his nose, Kaneda struggled to   
think of anything that would appeal to Ranma about being   
a girl (and coming right after thinking about   
menstruation, that was hard), "Think of it as uh, a   
TECHNIQUE! The "Saotome Vampire Energy Drain"!" Man! You   
couldn't come up with a BETTER name!?  
  
Ranma-chan was even less impressed, "Problem is it'd only   
work on virgin wimps!" And she kicked a deep dent in   
Gosunkugi's door.   
  
Gosunkugi screamed, "I'm sorry!!!"  
  
Ranma-chan put her frowning eyes up to the vent slots and   
banged her fist against the door, "Tell me why you're   
here!"  
  
Inside, Gosunkugi closed his eyes, "My club had to find   
another place: You and those other women had taken over   
where my club meets!! You were all too intimidating!" He   
shuddered, "Especially that tall, adult woman."  
  
Ranma-chan was suspicious, "Yeah? What kinda club meets   
out among a buncha trees?"  
  
Gosunkugi told the girl, "It's, it's the Voodoo Club! We   
make straw dolls, and then hammer spikes through   
them...into tress."  
  
It took a moment for Ranma-chan to say, "Unh, hunh. You   
play with dolls. Just what I need to be seen doing in   
this body." And she left for the door, putting on only   
her outer red shirt. She carried her other clothes over   
her arm.  
  
Gosunkugi added, "We also do OTHER black magic!!"  
  
Kaneda hurried to follow after the pistoning buttocks of   
Ranma--When HE was sprayed by blood coming out of the   
locker's vent.   
  
Kaneda banged another dent into the door: "Hey! No   
peeking! That's MY girl!" And he stuffed the towel into   
the vent holes.  
  
The bare naked Ranma-chan told him, "I'm not your girl!"  
  
Kaneda was hit and buried under a barrage of balls of all   
kinds.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
For the short trip to the guys' room, Ranma hadn't   
bothered to put on her pants. The shirt was long enough   
to cover anything that was supposed to be covered.   
Stepping up to the long, enamel sink in the guys' room,   
she looked at the blood spatters that got on her clothes,   
"Just great. Other than my kempo-gi, these clothes are   
about ALL I have! This means I have to use COLD water to   
get the blood out before it sets. I hate cold water!" The   
confident martial artist stubbornly persisted in acting   
as if she were still a guy, right to the point of taking   
off her shirt again. Only then did she think to put on   
the pants again, if only so she wouldn't have to look at   
what was missing.   
  
Suddenly, the mummy Tatewaki Kuno burst into the rest   
room: "My lackey was correct: It IS the Pigtailed Ranma   
in all of her glory!!"  
  
A small ninja type peeked out from behind his master.   
"Oh, my! I really hadn't expected her to be THIS brazen."  
  
Ranma-chan looked at the tall, bandaged and idiot in the   
kendo-gi in surprise. "Oh, this is wonderful: My senses   
must not take this guy seriously enough to warn me! But   
that geeky wimp, it does."  
  
Kuno heard what he wanted to hear, "My Juliet said the   
sight of her Romeo is wonderful! I COME to thee, My Sun   
Goddess!!" He had come with his sword to defend her honor   
inside the boys' locker, and then the lav.  
  
Ranma-chan tossed the wet clothes in the sink, and   
stepped over to where the creep could get a clearer   
charge at her: "Come on!! I took you down the last time!"  
  
Kuno chortled, "Such double entendre!"  
  
Sasuke Sarugakure cried to his master, "Watch out--"   
before he was trampled.  
  
Kaneda screamed, "Keep your manicured hands off Ranma!!"   
The sight of Ranma he had seen at the doorway was a   
small, naked, soft and cute redhead with great chichis:   
He lost it! He completely forgot his martial arts   
training as he leaped on the samurai boy, and started   
wailing.  
  
The force of the rear assault was to cause Kuno to   
stumble forward.  
  
Ranma yelled at Kaneda, "This is MY fight!! Stay! Out!   
Of! It!" She hoisted herself up by the rim of the sink,   
and lifted her legs to kick them both away.  
  
And she didn't think to keep those legs together.  
  
His nose spewing blood again, Kaneda cried, "Don't   
look!!" covering Kuno's eyes.   
  
Kuno cried, "Oh, the inhumanity of my fellow--"  
  
Sasuke said, "I'll aid you, my--" But he dove onto the   
floor just in time. The wild haired redhaired guy and   
Master Kuno flew over his short, prostrate body.  
  
Kaneda got his legs up in time to meet the wall opposite   
the sink. He used his new "Tendou Lower Body Whip-Crack"   
technique to kick him and Kuno away from the wall.   
  
It WAS still new and unpracticed. The off-center thrust   
sent them stumbling.   
  
Ranma-chan got an idea. She turned on the hot water, and   
directed the spray with her hand.  
  
The nude Ranma-chan raised a foot to send the two other   
guys over onto the floor.  
  
Akane found herself under the weight of Kuno!   
  
(Sasuke lifted his hands to peek out, "Where did that   
other lady come from? The Master has clear field with TWO   
girls in the men's facilities?")  
  
Kuno lifted himself onto his knees, and searching for his   
fallen bokken. "I shall smite you for keeping me from   
seeing My Sun!!" It took him a moment to realize that he   
wasn't straddling any male.  
  
In that moment Akane's blouse and jumper were getting   
soaked with hot water. The dress's bib did interfere with   
the wet-shirt effect. But Kuno did see the straps and   
part of her bra's polka dot cups.  
  
The disheveled Akane told him, "Get away from me, jerk!!"   
lashing up at him.  
  
Kuno grabbed her wrist, and yanked her up to him. "My   
Wild Haired Huntress!!" His other arm hugged her tightly   
to him, "You have captured my heart!"  
  
Ranma-chan snickered as she leaned her bare ass against   
the sink, "That's right, Kuno, she's ALL yours to try and   
date."  
  
Akane yelled, "I'll do more to your heart than hold it,   
if you don't let GO of me!!!" She still had ONE arm half   
untrapped under the heavier samurai's left arm. Waving it   
about it up and down, she loosened it from Kuno's grip   
enough to try a Tendou Upper Body Technique on parts of   
his face, when--  
  
Kuno pushed her away, sobbing. "Oh, cruel, cruel accident   
along the True Path of Love! Oh, that I be shielded from   
the warm and heated embrace of My Flame by this armor   
against amour!" In frustration, he tore off the knot that   
held his bandage in place. "Do not heave a chaste sigh   
over a maiden's opportunity lost, we shall soon both be   
free of what separates us!!" As the bandage unwound, Kuno   
was shrugging out of his gi coat.  
  
Ranma-chan asked Akane, "I know why I let him yammer on.   
Why did you?"  
  
POW!Akane's blow was so powerful it sent Kuno sideways   
to land in a sprawl on the floor on the other side or   
Ranma-chan.  
  
(Sasuke cried, "Master!!" going to him.)  
  
Dripping wet, Akane got up on a foot and a knee, "I was   
surprised, OKAY!!?! Kuno let go of me and started orating   
again! Who listens to what HE says!!"   
  
Ranma-chan smiled, "Is that all? Maybe your girl feelings   
were comin' out." She was STILL directing the hot water   
at Akane.  
  
Akane approached her, "You want GIRL feelings!?"   
  
Too late, Ranma-chan saw what the black haired girl was   
reaching for. She scorned, "You're threatening me with my   
own clothes?"  
  
Kaneda used his Whip-Crack to send Ranma's red, Chinese   
shirt to slap Kuno in the face.   
  
(Sasuke was surprised, not wanting to dwell on forbidden   
fruit, he had been keeping his attention on his master.)  
  
Kuno came to, "What's this!?! An article of clothing of   
My Beloved!!" His heart swelled, "This token of her   
affection tells more than her moist lips can!"  
  
The nubile girl said, "You want to play THAT game, do   
you!!?" turning on the hot water of ALL the taps.  
  
Kaneda grabbed Ranma's cold wet clothes to as a shield to   
neutralize the hot being sprayed and splashed at him.   
  
Ranma-chan decided to use the clothes to PULL the Kaneda   
in.  
  
Kuno cried, "Unmitigated reprobate!! Stealing a lady's   
clothes!" He was charging before he was fully on his   
feet, "Give ME My Lady's vestments!"   
  
But, 'somehow', the au naturel Ranma-chan just happened   
to be on his way.   
  
Her danger sense warning her this time, all Kuno touched   
was a well-turned ankle against shin, and strong fingers   
that directed him INTO the sink:  
  
Slash!  
  
(Sasuke cried, "Master!!" Again he missed the change.)  
  
Ranma-chan yanked her pants away from Akane.   
  
Akane grabbed at them...Just as Kuno blindly struggled to   
get out of the sink.  
  
Ranma-chan cried, "Hey!! Watch the boobs --and butt!!"  
  
A guy cried, " "Boobs"!??"/ Another said, "Butt??"  
  
Both Ranma-chan and Kane-chan's heads snapped on their   
graceful necks to the guys' room door: Guys with and   
without sweaty shirts were standing just inside, in and   
outside the doorway.   
  
The stillness was broken when one guy confirmed, "There   
are girls in the guys' room!"  
  
Ranma-chan and Kane-chan defensively backed up, looking   
for more room to maneuver.  
  
Then the flood: "And one of 'em is buck, spanking   
naked!"/ "NAKED!?!!"/ "Big, chichi, cute naked!"/   
"And the other one looks like she was about to join the   
redhead!!"/ "And she's cute, too!"  
  
Then: Let's join THEM!!" It had started out as a simple   
call for a little "guys' fun".   
  
But as the guys rushed for the girls, things quickly   
escalated. They ended up pulling and pushing, tripping,   
leapfrogging, trampling, and ankle-biting each other.  
  
And that was the just the preliminaries. The main event   
where the fifth period gym and club guys tried to   
volunteer for nude martial arts lessons was much more   
violent and noisy. "I recognize the pigtailed girl!"/   
"That's Kaneda's girl!"/ "The guy who always beats   
us!?!"/ "And he's going to beat us again for this!!"/   
"If we're going to get beat up anyway--"/ "Yes!! Let's   
make it worth while!"/ "Go for it!!" This day they   
earned the name "Hentai Horde". The story would grow, and   
become the stuff of legends.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Kane-chan, her limp, wet uniform practically shredded was   
the first to escape. Taking up the taller girl's rear   
view, the still starkers and mauled Ranma-chan was the   
next to battle her way out into the hall.   
  
Kane-chan told Ranma-chan, "I THINK we need to practice   
more as girls!! We should have been able to beat these   
guys easily!!"  
  
Not all of their assailants recognized their defeat. The   
two girls were followed by bloody nosed guys who also had   
on tattered clothes. They were spurred on with, "For our   
honor as men!" His idea of how to treat girls obviously   
came from hentai mangas.   
  
Ranma-chan told Kane-chan, "Now's the time to fight   
again: We're out where we have maneuvering room!"  
  
Kane-chan took Ranma-chan by the wrist, "No! I've got a   
better idea!" Thinking the stupid girl might have an idea   
Ranma-chan let herself be led. Akane, after all, knew the   
where everything was at this school better than Ranma   
did.  
  
MUCH better: Too late, Ranma-chan saw that she'd been   
pulled to, "The girls' lockers!! Oh, no!! I'd rather face   
the--" Kane-chan got her in with quick jujitsu.  
  
The half-dressed and girls in just panties inside cried,   
yelled, and screamed when they saw the condition of the   
girls who'd made the surprising entrance.   
  
Kane-chan yelled, "We were attacked by guys!!"   
  
Ranma-chan got her hand out of Kane-chan's grip. She   
looked coolly at her, "You really aren't a man, are you."   
But Kane-chan HAD gotten her in the girls' locker where   
she'd wanted her in the first place.  
  
The girls cried, "Guys!!?"/ "Guys!!"/ "Just like   
guys!"/ " 'Bet my brother was among them."/ "You poor   
girls!"/ "POOR!?! How would YOU like have your clothes   
ripped from your body by a mob of hormone crazed   
boys!!?!"/ "You don't have to be so GRAPHIC about it,   
Bianka."/ "Stop talking!! Get these victims some   
clothes!"/ "Right! Clothes!"  
  
While others of the female horde approached them, Ranma-  
chan started backing up. She would RATHER face the lust-  
crazed guys than this smothering opposite of all that was   
hentai.  
  
"Somebody go get a teacher or somebody!"/ "I'M not   
going out there where those creeps are waiting!/ "Take   
a team with you!"/ "Only if I'M on the inside."/ "If   
we can get word to the principal--"/ "THAT kid!??!"/   
"At LEAST she's a girl!"/ "A little girl!"/ "What can   
a kid do!!"  
  
That did it! Ranma-chan turned for the door out.  
  
Kane-chan crashed through it first, screaming in panic:   
"I tried! I can't do it!! I have to get out!!!"  
  
Ranma-chan stood there wondering what had caused that! It   
was as if Kane-chan had a...phobia?  
  
First one hand, then another was pull toward a different   
girl; while other girls swarmed around Ranma-chan. She   
realized just how short she was with bra-clad and unclad   
boobs sticking out near her face. Hips almost touched her   
lower abdomen, and her butt grazed against thighs as she   
flinched this way and that.   
  
And all the while, girls talked to her: "How did it   
happen?"/ "Was it Tendou's fault!!?!"/ "That's right:   
You're that girl! His fiancée!"/ "This is Ranma?!"/   
"How many OTHER girls around here have hair that color!"/   
"Is it dyed?" a very badly done blonde asked, physically   
checking Ranma-chan's roots.  
  
Ranma-chan said, "What is WITH every girl havin' to know   
if it's DYED!!?!" She wanted to take the girl's hand out   
of her hair. Only with all the girl flesh so close at   
hand, it was hard to make any movement without touching   
humid skin.  
  
"Here! She can use this school jacket I forgot to take   
home! Hope you don't mind it being in my locker for a few   
weeks."/ "Mi-gan! You DID take my slip last week!"/   
"Oh, OKAY! Hmph! I was planning to go home early anyway.   
Ranma can have my dress. (And blouse, too, I guess.)"/   
"Nice try, Omi, but everybody can see you're a B bust!"/   
"Wow!" another girl said, staring, "Ranma's D's ARE   
real!"  
  
Ranma-chan hugged her D's: "Don't touch!!"  
  
"Ooo, sensitive!"  
  
Ranma-chan told her, "Very!!" Her arms over her chests,   
she made to bull her way through the females that see she   
was serious and move aside.   
  
Instead, they placed their hands on her bare shoulders   
and hips, turning her around: "Before you get dressed, go   
to the girls' room."/ "Clean those wounds."/ "It'll   
make you feel less dirty."/ "It'll help you relax."/   
"We don't have a shower, but maybe some hot water--"  
  
Ranma-chan's bare back bumped up against girl parts, "No   
hot water!!" She was ready to push against, and grab soft   
skin to keep THAT from happening!   
  
One girl put her arms around Ranma and hugged, "It's   
okay, girl! We understand."  
  
Another asked, "We do?"  
  
The girl that had tried to touch Ranma-chan's size D's,   
now put her hand on the small of the redhead's back,   
"Miyo, Ranma's SENSITIVE! Hot water causes her skin to   
get splotchy or something."  
  
Miyo asked, "It does?"  
  
Ranma-chan told them, "Put me under hot water, and it   
won't be a pretty sight. I won't be pretty at all."  
  
Miyo said, "Aw, how sad." Others showed their sympathy.  
  
Ranma-chan was asked, "Do you want us you to escort you   
anywhere?"  
  
Short Ranma-chan told the sea of girls she was drowning   
in, "No! I just want to get out of here!"  
  
The girl who was hugging, took an arm away to motion,   
"Where the clothes for Ranma?!"  
  
The door suddenly opened, and sopping wet clothes were   
tossed in.  
  
The clammy damp made the pair of girls they hit scream and   
get out of any more attacks. Ranma-chan saw the way out   
of this nightmare clear.  
  
But, then, she saw that the clothes that had been tossed   
in were her own clothes. Or what was LEFT of her red and   
black, silk shirt and pants, cotton undershirt and   
boxers. The same thing that had happened to Kane-chan's   
uniform had happened to Ranma's Chinese clothes.  
  
Ranma-chan fell to her knees not caring WHAT she bumped,   
as she screamed, "NO!!! I need Chinese clothes!! I'd   
rather die than go without them!!"  
  
  
The End of this chapter  
[For those who don't think Ranma would allow himself to   
be a girl for even a powerful technique, just remember   
"Martial Arts Dining" and "Martial Arts Tea Ceremony".] 


	17. 17: Knocked up? Getting in Her Bloomers

Ranma & Kaneda  
By Ron Dow75  
  
17: Knocked up? Getting into Her Bloomers  
  
  
Nude among less than half-dressed girls, Ranma-chan   
kneeled unladylike before the remains of her silk,   
Chinese clothes. "These, these are the only clothes like   
this I have!"   
  
One sympathetic soul in the locker room asked, "How can   
that be??" She also wondered how the redhead's waist   
could be so unnaturally small.  
  
Another girl without a bra nudged her, and whispered,   
"Haven't you HEARD? This is Ranma Saotome! You know:   
Pigtail, red hair?"  
  
More than one girl gasped, "The one brainwashed..."/   
"...abused..."/ "...tortured by her father!?"/ "--The   
woman-hater!?!"/ ("Is that why she looks like she's   
wearing an invisible corset?")  
  
One with a bra said, "The one Nabiki told us about?"/   
"The one she's arranging a birthday party for--?"/   
"Quiet! It's supposed to be a surprise."  
  
Distraught, Ranma-chan picked up the clothes in her   
hands; she didn't care they were clammy and damp, "I can   
only have what I can carry. We don't have much money."   
She pressed the cold, wet material to her exposed bosom,   
"I had to fight Pop to keep THESE!!"   
  
The sympathetic soul with the large bare boobs said, "Aw,   
you poor girl!"  
  
More than one obviously female said, "Her father is   
cruel..."/ "...and unusual!"/ "He needs to be   
punished!"/ "The woman-hater!"/ ("Why would a man   
like that want her to wear an invisible corset??")  
  
But more common sense asked, "But Ranma's dad is a   
martial artist. What can WE do Ranma can't do?"  
  
The locker room door opened, and the girls of sixth   
period P.E. saw the sempais of fifth. "What's going on?"/   
"Why are you girls still here?"/ "What girl's having a   
crisis this time?"/ "Anything interesting this time?"  
  
One girl with a red bow in her dark brown hair had made   
her way through the crowd outside far enough to see,   
"Ranma!??!" Behind Sayuri, still lost behind the others,   
Yuka asked, "Ranma?!? SHE'S the one with the crisis?!"   
  
The girls in the locker room saw that it was time to get   
dressed. A girl putting on her school blouse told them,   
"I'll say. She says she'd rather die than go without her   
special clothes."   
  
Girls from Ranma's class asked, " "Special clothes"??"/   
"Is that her attitude?"/ "Is that why can't she wear a   
uniform like the rest of us?" / "Because it wouldn't   
make her "special"?"/ "(If I had a waist like that I   
wouldn't hide it in baggy clothes.")/ "If that's her   
attitude, I don't know if I WANT to go to her birthday   
party."/ "Maybe she's like Yuumei, and thinks she's too   
good to exercise with us."   
  
"Ranma's not like that!" Sayuri told them, pushing her   
way in. "Didn't you hear Yuka tell you how Ranma's   
efemininating Dad did to her?!"  
  
(Yuka pleaded, "Let me through, please! I'm with them!")  
  
A girl stepping into her blue jumper wondered, "   
"Efemininating"?? Is that a word?"  
  
Sayuri like all of the others had gym bags, "If there can   
be a word like "emasculating", why shouldn't there be a   
female equivalent?"   
  
A girl zipping up her dress's back with practiced hands   
answered, "Because people are more concerned with guys   
not acting like guys than vice versa?"  
  
A girl who pulled up a white sock answered, "Because a   
girl who acted like a guy had better be tougher than a   
guy?"  
  
A girl who laced up a shoe added, "If she isn't, they'll   
do to her what they do guys who aren't GUY enough!"   
  
A girl who shouldered a sports bag said, "They'll keep at   
her until SHE starts acting like a girl."  
  
Yuka had finally been allowed to see Ranma-chan, "Is that   
why she acts like she does! Like, uh...."  
  
Sayuri put her bag down and kneeled beside Ranma-chan,   
"Like "a caricature of a guy martial artist"? Of course   
it is!" She put an arm around her bare shoulders, "Ranma-  
chan acts the way she does because NOBODY has given her a   
chance to be anything else."  
  
Ranma-chan shook the offending arm off, her mind   
elsewhere, "I won these clothes in a battle with a   
Chinese martial artist who laughed at me for being a girl   
in my kempo-gi!"   
  
Yuka wanted to kneel down on the other side of Ranma-  
chan. But her upperclasswomen from the previous class   
were all ready and wanted out the door. Yuka had to stand   
in front of Ranma. Looking at the girl down in the raw,   
she asked, "Is that why those things are so important to   
you, Ranchan?"  
  
Sayuri, too, found she had to make way for them. "It's   
like they said; these Chinese clothes were special   
because they were her trophy. They were a symbol that she   
WAS guy enough."  
  
The one who'd mentioned Nabiki looked down at the   
redhead's above average chichis, "A girl with THOSE   
statistics would need a lot to assure herself she's   
really a guy."  
  
Ranma-chan looked forlornly at the wet shreds in her pink   
girlish lap with hips, "I need Chinese clothes to keep   
from havin' a kid."  
  
This was a slap in the face of the martial arts persona   
of Ranma Sayuri had been building, "You, you think   
Chinese clothes will keep you from becoming pregnant??"  
  
That brought comment from both sets of girls, "Now that's   
just plain stupid."/ "Wait a minute! I've heard about   
the ancient wisdom of the Chinese. Ranma went there to   
learn it!"/ "And "Chinese clothes will keep a girl from   
getting knocked up"? Unh, hunh."/ "Okay, that is plain   
stupid. I'm out of here."/ "We, two by two."  
  
The girls in the hall made room to let those of 2-E get   
by, and still follow what was happening: "Wow! How   
ignorant of girls did her daddy keep her?"/ "I know   
Japanese parents don't like to talk about sex. But look   
around at what is sold!"/ "They even give out copies of   
the "Karma Sutra" to girls."/ "That's how TO have sex.   
NOT how keep from getting its aftereffect!"/ "As we   
speak, decades after its invention, Japan still hasn't   
even legalized the birth control pill, yet!"/ "Right.   
The excuse is it'll make girls WANT to have more sex."/   
"Meanwhile the guys are given the message it's manly to   
"conquer" girls."/ "Right: "Don't take "no" for an   
answer"."/ "Humph! I'll bet WE'LL only get OUR pill   
when there's a pill the GUYS want legal!" By now those   
outside were moving into the locker room and were   
starting to take their clothes off.  
  
Sayuri tried to lift the focused redhead up off the   
floor, "Come on; move over to the bench on the wall   
beside the door."  
  
Yuka joined her, "You need to put SOMETHING on, Ranchan.   
Or you just MIGHT get with child."  
  
Sayuri asked, "Yuka, how much do YOU know about   
reproduction?"  
  
Yuka said, "That's what Daddums tells me! Keep your   
clothes on and--"  
  
One girl stepping out of her dress suggested, "If Ranma's   
not feeling right, she should see the nurse."  
  
Another getting out of her blouse and slip at once said,   
"What can the nurse do? Give her a hot compress?"  
  
Ranma came to her feet, so fast she boobs took on a life   
of their own, "Nothing hot!!" she panicked. "I CAN'T   
become a guy now!! I have to stay a girl!"  
  
One girl reaching around to unhook her bra said, "I wish   
I could become a guy right now. Even with a sports bra,   
these can be a pain at P.E.!"  
  
A smaller B cup opened her front fastening bra, "Ranma,   
going to the nurse is your excuse out of P.E.!"  
  
A C pulling her sports bra past her neck said, "And how   
is she going to get to the nurse's undressed like that?"  
  
One who stepping out of her panties laughed, "Maybe the   
nurse can examine her here: Ranma's stripped for a total   
physical examination!"  
  
Sayuri had almost gently pulled Ranma-chan over to the   
bench, she told the others, "Ranma's a martial ARTIST!?   
She LIKES things like physical exertion!"  
  
The words clicked with Ranma-chan, "That's right! I'll   
stay a girl, but DO physical stuff! That's what I do,   
that's what's familiar, that'll take my mind off of this!   
I'll lose myself in, in...."   
  
...In a body that would NOT let her forget that she was a   
girl. Ranma looked past the annoying boobs were the real   
enemies, the hips. Those pushed out things affected her   
fighting stance by making her knees come in. She would   
call it knock-kneed if her center of her weight wasn't in   
her belly. THAT, above jiggly fat deposits, both top and   
bottom, the soft skin and thin muscles, thick but short   
legs, and the annoying entrance between them, THAT above   
everything else that screamed in a soprano voice this   
wasn't a guy's body is what most nagged at her nerves.   
Ranma-chan was bottom-heavy!! That should be okay for   
somebody trained in the Saotome School of Lower Body   
Martial Arts! She actually had MORE thigh muscle as a   
girl. --But it WASN'T okay!!   
  
She had no upper body strength to speak of. None that   
compared to what she had as a guy! She had started to   
become obsessed with upper body strength. It was what   
best defined her guy's body besides the obvious. That   
meant guys should punch more kick less. When she had   
realized that she come to dwell on the meaning of her   
school's name. It was no accident it, and she was named   
Saotome ...meaning "Rice paddy Girl".  
  
(OF course Ranma's resentful analogy wouldn't let her see   
that rice paddy girls did a lot of upper-body work.)  
  
...as if for the first time Ranma noticed, "These nipples   
are big."  
  
Yuka said, "They are hard. You need to warm them, cover   
them. --You can have my gym clothes!"   
  
Sayuri said, as a friend, "Yuka, your clothes won't fit   
over Ranma's figure. MY clothes won't fit over it."  
  
Yuka looked at Sayuri, "Yes, yours would. Of course   
they'd be a little tight in the bust and a little loose   
in the waist."  
  
Sayuri said to her, "Be glad I'm not the type to use this   
gym bag to hit you with." But she put her bag on the wall   
seat, "But the sweatshirt is loose. Other than being a   
little long, it should be okay."  
  
When the girl took it out, Ranma saw that it wasn't too   
bad. The yellow thing with the rolled up short sleeves   
didn't look too girly. It was a sweatshirt.  
  
Na Chino, the girl with the lousy joke, asked, "What are   
your measurements?" She had brought a pair of buruma from   
her gym bag. She was wearing another pair under her dress   
instead of panties, as well as another sports bra.  
  
Ranma-chan said, "Measurements?" She was about to tell   
them, but looked down again at her dharma drum figure.   
She covered her boobs with an arm, "I don't know!"   
  
There was commentary on that, "She doesn't know??"/ "If   
*I* had a waist like that, I'd want EVERYBODY to know its   
size."/ "Men! That father of hers really HAS kept her   
in the dark."/ "Oh, come on; it means she was never   
interested to know in the first place."/ "Only   
because she knew her the woman-figures wouldn't please   
her woman-hater father."...  
  
Ranma-chan was pulling the sweatshirt over her pigtail   
when: Firm, cool hands touched Ranma's hips. Ranma   
startled, and made to spin around into defending position   
as arm. But there was no maneuvering room. She stopped   
herself from bumping into soft, smooth bodies.  
  
Na brought her firm, cool hands over to her own hips. "I   
was right, my buruma will fit you." The shorthaired girl   
was nearly Ranma's guy-height, but that only made the   
girl-widths she shared with Ranma-chan look less   
exaggerated.   
  
Ranma cried, "Bloomers! No! I can't wear anything like   
that!!"  
  
Na told her, "The only thing we have left to offer you   
are our school uniforms. Since this is the last class of   
the day, maybe one of the shorter girls--"  
  
There was a knock on the locker room door, and little   
Miss Hinako announced, "I'm coming in, everybody!" as she   
did. "You mischievous girls are TARDY! Mr. Shuaatsuneiga,   
your P.E. teacher, asked me to see what the delay was."   
She stood in the doorway, forgetting that anybody passing   
in the hall....  
  
Sayuri put herself in front of the bottomless Ranma,   
"There was an accident, and Ranma's clothes became   
ruined."  
  
Miss Hinako peeked around at the half-covered girl. "Miss   
Ranma should go to the office and get a spare uniform."  
  
Ranma took Na's buruma and lifted her first leg into the   
shorts, "That's okay! These ARE pants. I AM going to be   
in P.E. Just like I'm scheduled. ...It IS the last class   
of the day." And after that, she'd take care of Kaneda's   
for the dirty trick he'd played on her that got her into   
this locker room, and which got her INTO girls' gym   
clothes! I wonder what kinda boxers he wears.  
  
As Ranma-chan pulled up the tight shorts and adjusted the   
elastic of the leg openings around her bubble butt, Miss   
Hinako made to leave, "This is a mixed P.E. class. I want   
all you young ladies to wear protective cups. I don't   
want the boys getting naughty ideas."  
  
Changing herself, Sayuri commented, "There's something   
disturbing about somebody who looks my kid sister's age   
saying something like that." Other girls agreed as they   
started to leave the locker room for the playing fields.  
  
Ranma-chan looked at her crotch, "Girls hafta wear cups,   
too?"   
  
Na handed Ranma a sports bra, "The kid doesn't know what   
she's talking about. These don't have cups."  
  
It looked enough like a bra for Ranma-chan to screw up   
her face. "No, thanks. I've been doin' alright without   
wearin' anything but a shirt."  
  
Yuka had on only her buruma, "Doesn't that bother your   
big nipples?"  
  
Sayuri said, "...Among more weighty items."  
  
Na offered Ranma-chan her sports bra again, "See? It's   
not lacy, or silky or anything like that. It's really   
more like a tight halter top."  
  
Ranma-chan still didn't want to touch it. But as she   
studied it and the words Na used to describe it, "...like   
an undershirt?" She suddenly heard something in the   
replay she liked, "Silk!?! Do you have one in silk?!"  
  
Na gave up, "A silk sports bra? You have to be kidding."   
She reached for her own sweatshirt.  
  
Sayuri was down to her rather plain bra, "I bet somebody   
does make something like that, though. Somebody always   
does."  
  
The gossip started among the girls, "Silk! Ranma's   
Chinese clothes were silk!"/ "Ooo, and here I thought   
Ranma wanted to be thought of as a tomboy..."/ "...a   
tough..."/ "...a real guy's girl!"/ There was   
giggling: "Ranma has a SILK fetish!"/ "How girly!"   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
On their way to the playing fields, former gang girl Na   
told Ranma, "Silk!? It goes against the whole idea of   
sports bras."  
  
Yuka told Ranma, "There are silk bra and panty sets! I   
have some."  
  
Sayuri said, "They're made in China. So they're   
"Chinese". You probably can get some that have Chinese   
prints on them." She was wearing her regular school   
blouse.  
  
Yuka smiled, "Oh, yes! Lingerie comes in all SORTS of   
styles!"  
  
Ranma-chan, still tugging at the red bloomers, said, "No!   
It'd be another sacrifice of my male dignity." And being   
in girls' bloomers surrounded by girls in bloomers was   
more than enough already. "There's always a chance I   
WON'T get pregnant: All I have to do is stay a girl."  
  
Na said, "Staying a girl is how you GET preggers. And if   
you're serious about not looking like you're interested   
in the idea, you shouldn't have a bikini wax."   
  
Sayuri reminded her, "Na, Ranma's a martial artist. Who   
would challenge her?"  
  
Na told her back, "Another martial artist? Anybody who   
can take her unawares? Didn't I hear she's living with   
her fiance?"  
  
Ranma-chan made a "throat-ripper" claw of her hand, "He   
knows better to try any of THAT stuff!" Then she had a   
thought, "Wait! How'd I know!?"  
  
Sayuri said, "You'd know."  
  
Na told Ranma-chan, "Give me the word, and I'll   
assassinate the ninja sneak attacker for you! I'll mangle   
him and tie him up into bows!"   
  
Yuka said, "After all, you wouldn't want to do it in your   
condition, Ranchan."  
  
Sayuri said, "Yuka, where'd you get that idea that women   
can't do things like that even late into the third   
trimester?!"  
  
Ranma-chan cry was a vow, "I ain't, and I won't!!" She   
jogged away from them, "I GOT to DO something and take my   
mind off of all of this!" Her unrestrained boobs were   
jumping about more than most girls'.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Out on second base, Ranma-chan kept her mind on the ball.   
They were tossing around the softball as a warm-up; and   
in between her turns, she was stretching and taking   
practice swings with an imaginary softball bat. She had   
gotten her boobs back under control. Her melons just   
suddenly appeared on her, unlike ones that gave a girl   
time to learn how to wear them.   
  
Ever since Juusenkyo she had had to devote a part of her   
body-awareness skills to dealing with those boobs. It   
took away that much more attention she could give other   
things. That lessened her ability. Or so her resentment   
thought. It was all a very strange situation where the   
more her subconscious devoted itself to learning to cope   
with the strange, new body, the more her conscious was   
reminded how alien the body was, and the more numb she   
got to it. She used one of her well-trained skills,   
ignoring injuries, to counter another.   
  
But she was a martial artist. That meant integrating body   
and mind, letting her conscious master her subconscious,   
not the other way around. The more she allowed the   
situation to continue, the worse her skills WOULD   
deteriorate.   
  
But that meant remaining a girl! That meant practicing in   
the very OTHER body. Practicing methodically and   
intensely until she knew its all its differences, and how   
to put even its obvious weaknesses to use. Practicing   
until it became as familiar and comfortable as her real   
body. It meant that THIS body WOULD become her other   
half. It meant accepting herself as a girl.  
  
Experimenting with that idea again, she lowered her   
mental barriers down. Again she became aware that   
...boobs were what defined a girl's upper body, not   
MUSCLES!!   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Meanwhile while Ranma-chan was outside in short shorts,   
Kaneda was in his guys' blue sweat pants and shirt. The   
long, red haired guy did his last turn around the steel   
high bar and let go. He did a double tuck and an easy   
landing on the sand. It was best his class of guys had   
seen that day, and they applauded.   
  
But Kaneda's eyes returned to, guiltily, on Ranma-chan.   
He had run out on her, leaving Ranma alone in the girls'   
locker room. But he HADN'T been able to take it! It was a   
real problem with him. Every time he was a girl and was   
around pretty girls, she just, just had to--escape! No,   
don't think about that! You're a guy now, you don't have   
to think about it, now! Stay focused on being a guy!   
  
Kane-chan had fled in a screaming panic, but what about   
Ranma? She didn't look happy. At least she was where she   
belonged. With luck and some time, Ranma would become   
more comfortable being around girls. And people in   
general. Kaneda was (almost) certain of it. Sure Ranma   
seemed easy-going, but she didn't volunteer to be around   
others. She didn't know how to be anything but an   
outsider, so she had to be where the inside could come to   
HER.   
  
And if there's ONE thing I know about girls, they clump   
together more than guys.  
  
At least that's the excuse he gave himself when he   
plopped down on the ground beside Hiroshi and Daisuke.   
  
Hiroshi's eyes, too, were on the cute, redhead in the   
revealing buruma, "She must not take the guy-act too   
seriously. She shaves her legs."   
  
Kaneda knew the truth. He, too, guy and girl, had smooth,   
practically hairless bodies. He had thought it was just   
part of his genetics. It made him feel self-conscious   
around the hairier guys. But even the hairy Japanese were   
Asian, and it didn't stand out too much. And his martial   
arts reputation MADE them accept that a bald groin was   
something he did to improve his technique.   
  
Daisuke agreed, "Ranma's got great legs."  
  
Kaneda thought, Better hers than mine. Much better   
legs. Of course, he was proud of HIS own legs.   
  
Hiroshi, still staring, asked, "So, Kaneda, how far have   
you gotten with Ranma?"  
  
Kaneda, "Hunh?" Ranma had bent over to field a grounder.   
The buruma rode up her buttocks.  
  
Daisuke, still staring, "Don't play innocent. You're her   
fiancée."  
  
Hiroshi wanted to know, "So did you do it?"  
  
Daisuke put his hand on Kaneda's shoulder, "Yeah, you   
know...."  
  
While Daisuke held Kaneda down at the shoulder and waist,   
Hiroshi got Kaneda in a necklock, "I bet you, di, di --  
You know!"   
  
Kaneda told them, "Ranma's not ready yet!" Damn! If they   
weren't friends, he could easily get out of this.   
  
Daisuke knew that; he squeezed, "But YOU are! You say   
you're always ready! Aren't you a man!?!"  
  
Hiroshi told him, "Every girl knows the GUY has to make   
the moves!"  
  
Daisuke told him, "She could be suffering because you're   
a coward!"  
  
Kaneda stopped struggling for a moment, "She could?!"   
Ranma-chan DID keep pulling at her buruma.   
  
He shook the thought out of his head. "No! Ranma's going   
to be my partner! It's going to be her dojo as much as   
mine! We're going to build it up together! That means   
trust."  
  
Their grip slackened. Hiroshi asked, "What kind of talk   
is THAT?! It's your DAD'S property!"  
  
Daisuke said, "You really AREN'T going to be the man of   
the family, are you?"  
  
Kaneda said, "You take that back!!" And broke free of   
their embraces. "I WILL be the man!" And he brought out   
one of his wooden mallets.   
  
Daisuke did back off, "Is that how you prove you're a   
man!?"  
  
Hiroshi was even further back, "It works for me."  
  
Suddenly a softball hit the mallet, and was sent with   
same force it'd come with back at home plate.  
  
Still fighting with herself over whether to allow herself   
to experience this other body, Ranma-chan, had been so   
distracted her defenses were down. Where it was headed   
didn't seem as threatening as it would if she were a guy.   
There would be nothing in the way to get hit. And she had   
a little extra padding. It would be a hard-knocks lesson.  
  
She got the lesson: It hurt a little worse to be hit in   
the crotch as a girl! Her knees came together as she   
doubled over more out of surprise.  
  
Bending forward, she jabbed a boob that was already sore   
from before P.E. with the end of the softball bat: That   
hurt worse!!  
  
Overreacting in the now very rejected body, Ranma toppled   
over backwards. She kicked the bat with one foot and the   
ball with the other.  
  
Ranma got up her injury-ignoring skills just in time:   
After spinning high in the air, the bat came down hard on   
her left cheek.   
  
The guys had seen the whole thing.   
  
Hiroshi said, "Tomobiki the 13th: This IS an unlucky day   
for Ranma, isn't it!"  
  
Kaneda leaped to his feet, "RANMA!!" While he was   
running, he saw that he still had the offending mallet in   
his hand. He tossed it. "Ranma, are you okay?!!"  
  
But Ranma's teammates were already crowding around her,   
"Oh, the poor GIRL!"/ "What a perfectly dreadful thing   
to happen!"/ "Is she, is going to be *swallow*   
alright?"/ "She should see a doctor at once!"  
  
Sayuri asked, "How ARE you, Ranma?"  
  
Ranma-chan knew enough to only touch her burning check,   
"I'm okay! I get hurt worse 'n this all the time." But   
the red of her angry and embarrassed face matched injury.   
  
Yuka gulped, "You do!??!"   
  
Na said, "That evil father of hers!"   
  
"He shouldn't hit girls!"/ "His OWN daughter!"/ "In   
her FACE!!?!"/ "What if he, like, damaged her for   
life?!" There were exclamations at that thought.  
  
Confused, Ranma-chan took her hand away from her cheek,   
"What?? Is my face the only thing you care got--"  
  
Kaneda found a way between the surrounding girls, "Ranma!   
I came as soon as I could!" He scooped the pigtailed girl   
up in his big, strong arms. "I'll take you to the   
nurse's--"  
  
Before he had a chance to get a firm grip on her, Ranma-  
chan walloped HIM across the cheek, "Let GO of me,   
coward!!"  
  
Ranma-chan left his arms and fell butt-first to the   
ground.  
  
Na backed up the nearest girls to allow Kaneda to fly   
cleanly over their heads.  
  
THIS time Ranma-chan did rub her injury, "I hate bein' a   
girl!"  
  
Yuka said, "At least you didn't land on your face, you   
poor dear."   
  
Sayuri assured her, "That's right! You look just fine!"  
  
Na told her, "That bruise you're getting on your cheek   
will go away in no time!"   
  
"You ARE still, kind of, pretty with that cheek."/   
"...Just not as cute."  
  
It took a second for Ranma-chan to realize which cheek   
they were talking about. She took her hand off of her   
padded buttock. "What's WITH all this concern about my   
face!?!"  
  
There were loud gasps. "You, you don't know!?!"/ " "A   
girl's face is her life"!"/ "How can you NOT know!"/   
"That evil father of hers DID take her on a mind trip!"/   
"For a girl to have lived THIS long and have not been   
told how pretty she is!?!"/ "It's heartbreaking!"  
  
Daisuke kneeled beside her, "I'LL tell you how pretty you   
are, Ranma!"  
  
Hiroshi was standing beside him, "You are the still the   
CUTEST girl--"  
  
He fell back onto his own butt when Ranma-chan snapped to   
her feet. She yelled at the jerks on the ground, "I   
don't WANNA be pretty!! And cute's worse!!!"   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Ranma-chan and Kaneda had matching gauzes and tapes on   
their cheeks. They were walking home on the ground from   
school, bookbags in hand. Both of them were also keeping   
a wary eye on the other: Ranma because she was still   
wearing the yellow sweatshirt and red buruma, and Kaneda   
because he was waiting for Ranma-chan to mug him for his   
clothes. Kaneda was being very careful. If Kaneda allowed   
himself to look at her smooth, shapely legs the way his   
libido wanted, Ranma WOULD strip him and turn into a guy.   
THEN Ranma-kun would give Kane-chan a taste of the same   
medicine! *Shudder*  
  
Finally Kaneda tried to ease the tension, "Do you want to   
borrow my shirt? I still have an undershirt on. I can   
even give you that, since it doesn't matter most times if   
guys don't have anything covering his chest." Even as he   
was saying it, he knew he was digging his hole deeper and   
deeper.  
  
Ranma-chan glared, but kept her eyes off of the offender.   
"Without pants, it'd still feel like a dress. Right now,   
I'm in no mood to feel like I'm wearin' even a sort-of-a-  
dress." Heaven knew the bloomers were shaped enough like   
panties to make Ranma feel sick. But panties went UNDER   
clothes, so she had to keep them outside. (Where they got   
stares from every man and woman she passed.)  
  
Kaneda explained, "I can't let you have my pants because   
my uniform got shredded in the fight in the guys' lav!"  
  
Ranma-chan said sourly, "Yeah, I saw the side you   
retreated with. Don't you have ANY other underpants than   
those polka dot ones?"  
  
Kaneda told her, "Tell that to Kasumi! SHE'S the one who   
plays dress-up with my girl-form."  
  
Ranma-chan snorted, "Hmf! And you're not even man enough   
to stand up to HER."  
  
That got to Kaneda, "Hey! YOU try telling her what to   
do!"  
  
Ranma-chan said, "I WILL! Let anybody try to make ME wear   
girls' stuff." The vow was hollow right now, though. Even   
Ranma knew it; she explained to him, "I can't change   
until I have some silk, OKAY!!?! That's the ONLY reason   
I'm still a girl, you understand!"  
  
Kaneda was puzzled, "I thought it was Chinese clothes you   
had to have?"  
  
Ranma-chan walked faster, "Which sounds better for a guy   
to say?!"   
  
Kaneda had to admit, "I wouldn't want to admit I felt   
like I needed delicates." Again, that didn't help; Ranma   
put more distance between them.  
  
As Kaneda jogged to catch up, he noticed that up ahead   
was a panda sweeping the alleyway called a street in   
front of the Dr. Tofu's Clinic. "Hey, isn't that your   
dad, Ranma?".  
  
Ranma answered, "Geez! What do you think? Hey, Pop!   
What're you doin' here?!" Perfect! Something else to help   
her mood: That no-good doctor had not only put that   
invisible corset back on her, he'd then pulled a sneak   
attack afterwards that had hypnotized her!  
  
The panda raise a paw to greet them, but froze when it   
saw what Ranma was wearing.   
  
Dr. Tofu was quick to get out the front door, "School   
over already?" The man in round glasses and a black gi   
said, "Let me introduce Mr. Saotome. He started working   
here this afternoon." Their reaction wasn't what he'd   
been getting since this afternoon. He asked, "Do   
you...know each other?"  
  
Ranma-chan glared back black-and-white beast, "Yeah, we   
met before." As the panda found its snarl and growl,   
Ranma-chan told it back, "Who are YOU to give orders: At   
least *I* have clothes on!!"  
  
Kaneda 'explained' to the Doctor, "You know of the   
legends of great warriors? Like Momotaro: He had a dog, a   
monkey and a pheasant. The panda is like Ranma's mascot."  
  
Dr. Tofu chuckled, "Of course! Now the legends make   
perfect sense. --That is why Momotaro's animal companions   
were so intelligent!"  
  
Ranma-chan said, "I wouldn't say THIS one was so smart."  
  
Kaneda said to her, "Just be glad your Dad didn't do what   
the Japanese general Yoshitsune did and fall into the   
"Spring of Drowned Genghis Kahn"."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Dr. Tofu invited them into his office in the clinic.   
While the panda was forced to hold a dish of anpan/sweet   
bean buns for the guests, the Doctor pushed hot water out   
of a carafe into a serving teapot. He chuckled again,   
"You don't say? Ranma's father? Not much of a family   
resemblance." He didn't laugh because by now he'd figured   
most of the truth out. Though he wasn't sure, yet, what   
happened when hot water came into contract with Ranma.   
("Ranma" WAS normally a male name, but after meeting Mr.   
GENMA Saotome, there was no guarantee that meant   
anything.)  
  
He turned with the teapot. Of course, the way Ranma was   
dressed he wasn't about to spill any hot water on her.   
And the redhead sitting in one of his chairs was   
obviously in no mood to accept any apologies. It looked   
like she had an appetite when she was upset. She was   
eating two buns at once, two fisted-style.  
  
He set the small china teapot down on the table.  
  
Standing beside the Doctor, Kaneda offered, "Here, let me   
pour you some tea, Sensei!" Dr. Tofu WAS Kaneda's coach;   
the one man he respected above all others.  
  
Tofu sensei-like accepted, "How thoughtful. Here's my   
cup, Kaneda." He turned back around, "Ranma, whatever   
happened to you and Kaneda's faces?"  
  
Ranma-chan swallowed the large piece of bun that was   
left, "It was in P.E. class. I don't wanna talk about   
it." The laser glare was directed, though, at the panda.  
  
Without moving the tape or gauze from her face, he looked   
at the injury. "I see. I've seen worse," and he chuckled   
again, "and more embarrassing."  
  
Ranma-chan's face reddened. "This ain't what got   
embarrassed." But the fuss they made over it, perversely,   
saved her face. But it'd ONLY been because I was a   
girl!  
  
Dr. Tofu said, "Oh, I see. Well, I can give you something   
I am sure will help. I'll let you apply it yourself, if   
you like." And he went for it.  
  
When the phone rang, he called back, "Mr. Saotome! Will   
you get that for me? Thanks!"  
  
When the panda picked up the receiver, it "said", BWA-  
OW?! B'raffu, R'rrura!..."  
  
Kaneda took the phone from the unintelligible animal,   
"Here! Let me!  
  
"Hello, this is the Dr. Tofu's Clinic. Can I ask who's   
calling?"  
  
Ranma-chan told the idiot animal, "What's the big idea of   
picking up the phone when you can't even talk!?! If   
you're gonna be a panda, you should act like a pan--"   
Suddenly she felt like the idiot. Change "panda" to   
"girl" and--  
  
Kaneda said, "Yes, I see. Bye." He hung up the receiver.   
He told Ranma-chan, "Come on, Ranma, we have to go."  
  
Ranma-chan said, "Hunh?? But the doctor's getting me   
something." Wait a minute! Why am I trustin' that guy   
after what he did!?!  
  
Kaneda told her, "I'm serious, Ranma. That was the storm   
warning! Every time she passes by, it's a disaster around   
here. The Doctor's patients know to stay away until the   
worse is over."  
  
Ranma-chan asked, "She?? What kind of girl has the power   
to--You don't mean our acting principal, that little   
brat?"  
  
Kaneda said, "No! I don't mean anybody LIKE Miss Hinako!   
Miss Hinako only has power over people's Chi energy. The   
one I'm talking about has power over people's emotions!"  
  
Ranma-chan asked, "You sure you're not exaggerating?"  
  
Dr. Tofu came back from his medicine vault, "Here we go,   
Ranma! Kaneda! Mr. Cha gets this herbal salve straight   
from China. I get many of my harder to find items from   
him. He's the herbalist for the Kuno estate."  
  
Ranma-chan thought, Another good reason not to trust   
this guy. So why do I?  
  
But Kaneda accepted it, "Thank you, Dr. Tofu. But we   
really should be going, now."  
  
Dr. Tofu asked, "Ranma, would you like something in   
silk?"  
  
Ranma-chan's eye widened, "You KNOW about that!?!"  
  
The Doctor smiled, a bit of relief showing on his face,   
"I was guessing: You're not wearing the silk clothes I've   
seen you in, and ARE wearing something most young women   
don't wear after school hours. You're upset and have the   
same curse as Kaneda." He invited her to sit down.  
  
Ranma looked at him as if she'd been tricked—again--by   
this character. "DO you have any silk?"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Ranma-chan was soon wearing black, silk, Chinese pajamas   
with red trim, and underneath was a pair of matching   
boxer shorts.   
  
Dr. Tofu handed her some elastic bands to shorten the   
very long legs and sleeves. "These were a present from   
Mr. Cha. You can have them, I never wear them." Then he   
chuckled again, "He has a matching pair he does wear."  
  
Kaneda thought, "His and His" pajamas?? I can't believe   
Dr. Tofu is like that.  
  
But Ranma-chan knew, "I've seen people, both men and   
women, wear something that looks like pajamas out in the   
streets of China." She almost smiled as she moved on from   
the ankles to the sleeves, "These are definitely men's."  
  
Dr. Tofu smiled, "So, you ARE male. I have talked with   
the priest of the temple that gave you the shiatsu   
corset. I'll be glad to remove the visible effects."  
  
Ranma-chan looked at the doctor as if may, perhaps, he   
WAS somebody he could trust. Until: "Only the "visible"?"  
  
Dr. Tofu said, "You are still bound to "Shinpiko" by the   
Contest of the Corset." Shinpiko was the Doctor's code   
name for Kaneda's secret identity, before it became Akane   
Saotome.  
  
Kaneda looked at the door, expecting somebody to come in   
at any moment, "Are you sure you want to do it, NOW!??   
Maybe later would be a better time!"  
  
Ranma-chan directed her anger at Kaneda, "No, now! You   
just want me to keep this stupid wasp waist! It makes me   
even look MORE like a girl, like I really DID lose to   
you." Then, "Go ahead, Doc!"  
  
As Ranma-chan lifted her pajama shirt and let him work on   
the nerves of his middle back, Dr. Tofu informed her,   
"When a person with your curse changes from a male to a   
female, there is always a small chance that the   
transformation will not be entirely complete. Now a few   
spermatozoon normally will not cause fertilization, but   
it has been known to happen."  
  
Ranma-chan nodded, "I wasn't told the details, only that   
since magic made me like this, magic can keep me from   
goin' all the way over! The Chinese guide said I could   
become stuck!!"  
  
Dr. Tofu patted her back, telling her he was done, "Only   
for the duration of the pregnancy. But if you are told   
silk will keep you from inseminating yourself, it   
probably will."  
  
Ranma straightened up, " "Probably"!?!"  
  
Dr. Tofu said, "Magic is like advanced Chi techniques. It   
works ONLY if it's built on a concept the user   
understands. It further helps if the one who it's   
directed to understands it. THAT is why a martial artist   
yells out what technique he is using. He wants to make   
the subconscious link. It all has to do with association.  
  
"Do YOU understand why silk would prevent you from   
getting pregnant?"  
  
Ranma-chan firmly nodded, she had to two weeks to burn it   
into her mind, and "A silk worm spins its thread to make   
a cocoon. It makes a cocoon to change INTO an adult. It's   
not sexually mature enough to have kids when it makes its   
silk!"   
  
Kaneda didn't point out the flaw in the logic. It   
would've weakened the magic. Ranma's WISHING it would   
work was most of the reason the magic would work. It was   
Ranma's greatest "If only" power.  
  
Ranma-chan, feeling relieved that she had more than   
wishful thinking to keep her from getting stuck as a   
knocked-up girl, sat down. The Doctor suggested,   
"Alright, Ranma, let's have a look at your cheek, now."  
  
Suddenly, no longer worried about Ranma-chan, Kaneda had   
to ask, "Doctor! *I* don't wear anything silk!!"  
  
But from outside the office, Kasumi called, "Hello?"  
  
As soon as she opened the door, Dr. Tofu's glasses fogged   
up.  
  
Kasumi said, "Hello, there! Good afternoon, Doctor Tofu."  
  
Tofu's only firm grip on reality was Ranma-chan's head.   
He twisted it. Vertebrae snapping out of place were   
clearly heard. Ranma-chan gave a warrior's muffled   
scream. Kaneda winced!   
  
Dr. Tofu smiled like an idiot in the direction of, "Hi,   
Kasumi! You're here for the prescription, aren't you!   
You'll be sure not to tell the authorities how I deal in   
contraband, will you? *Ha, ha!*"  
  
Kasumi cried, "Doctor! You weren't supposed to let Kaneda   
know!"  
  
Dr. Tofu headed for the door, "That's right! I won't let   
your brother know you sneak birth control pills in his   
food!"  
  
  
The End of this chapter  
  
  
  
[Note: The birth control pill was finally legalized in   
Japan in 1999. It was only allowed because of the arrival   
of Viagra. Abortion was one of the highest in the world.   
[Yes, the legends about Momotaro and Yoshitsune are real.   
The Juusenkyo explanation is mine.  
[And, yes, "buruma" is Japanese for "bloomers".] 


	18. 18: Atypical Chapter

Ranma & Kaneda  
By Ron Dow75  
  
18: Atypical Chapter   
  
[This is loosely based on atypical Episode Six.]  
  
  
In Dr. Tofu's office, only the small, redhaired girl in   
black-with-red-trim, pajama-like Chinese clothes was   
sitting. But she wasn't sitting comfortably:  
  
Ranma-chan's head was sharply cricked to the left.  
  
But it was Dr. Tofu that was more bent, psychologically.   
"Progestin! Oral contraceptives! You know as an   
acupuncturist, I normally don't approve of pills--Ha, ha!   
Especially ones that are illegal in this country! Good   
thing I'm also a GP with connections!"  
  
Kaneda looked at his older sister accusingly. Kasumi   
acted as if she didn't have a clue about what was going   
on. "Doctor, you said we shouldn't tell Kaneda's about   
his birth control pills!"  
  
But the longhaired redhead knew she really wasn't really   
to blame; it was just the years of frustration over his   
coach and mentor being taken from him every time she   
showed up. Then he became somebody that was hard to   
admire. He muttered to himself, "Why does this have to   
happen to every generation of his family, until the   
astrological signs are right for--" Suddenly it   
registered with him what was being said, "Birth control!!   
ME!!?!"  
  
Dr. Tofu bowed to Kaneda, "Congratulations! You'll soon   
be a mother!"  
  
Kaneda cried, "MOTHER!!?!"  
  
The man in the black martial arts gi grasped his hand and   
pumped it violently up and down, "Or father!" He smiled   
over at his other patient, "Isn't that right, Ranma-  
chan?!"  
  
Ranma-chan nearly straightened her neck at this news:   
"WHA--OW!!"  
  
Dr. Tofu was already ignoring them as he went to tell   
Kasumi, "Isn't the red string a thing of wonder and a   
joy?!"  
  
Kasumi told him, "Doctor, that is ALSO something that was   
best kept a secret."  
  
Ranma-chan stood up, demanding, "If I'm gonna have a kid,   
I think the doctor should tell me about it!!" Under other   
circumstances Ranma-chan wouldn't have let herself get   
bothered by the idea she could become pregnant; the idea   
would've just been to far-removed from his normal sense   
of maleness. But ever since she'd arrived at the Tendous,   
things had seemed to be snowballing out of hand. She had   
even gotten brief strange feelings that could've been   
female.  
  
Kaneda said, "You don't mean, uh, now, do you."  
  
Dr. Tofu took the bony hands of his skeleton Beti and   
looked her in the eye sockets, "Ah, the red string: Love   
before first sight! No matter how far separated in space   
and time, it draws together those predestined to be in   
love, binding them even after death."  
  
Ranma-chan looked sideways at the tall, muscular Kaneda,   
"I ain't marryin' an idiot just because some dumb   
folklore says I'm destined to!" Ranma didn't know that   
the concept had become an enchanted object. Though, one   
she wasn't wearing at the moment.  
  
The ponytailed Doctor was going on as if he hadn't heard,   
"...Maybe your true love will be a foreigner--Maybe from   
America! --Or Samoa! Korea! China!" He kissed Beti's   
metacarpals, "Ah, like bone china."  
  
The pigtailed girl stammered, "Chi, China?"   
  
(Kaneda stammered as well, "Wh, what about OUR love?? I   
thought THAT was what was predestined!?!!")  
  
Dr. Tofu remained lost behind the romantic glaze of his   
glasses, "...Modern travel does allow ANYONE from your   
many past lives to find you, now, doesn't it?" And he   
celebrated by taking unhooking his skeleton from her   
stand.  
  
Ranma asked, "Just HOW many reincarnated lovers and   
rivals do you expect to find me?!"  
  
The Doctor who looked younger than he was danced with his   
Beti, singing an oldie, "When you're not with the one you   
love, love the one you're with..."  
  
The primly dressed Kasumi could not stay mad at him, "Oh,   
Doctor! You're so entertaining!"   
  
It was clear to Kaneda that Dr. Tofu was no longer able   
to provide any more intelligible answers. And Kasumi,   
too, was succumbing to the spell that kept them declaring   
their love.  
  
Kaneda thought, A lot of good their red string seems to   
do them. At least their screwed up courtship proved   
Kasumi wasn't right for Ranma-chan. Doesn't it?  
  
Ranma-chan cried, "I've had it! I'm outa this mental   
clinic!" Pushing some hot water--Very hot--from the   
carafe on the table, she splashed her face. And the   
pigtailed guy was headed for the door.  
  
Kaneda said, "Talk about a screwed up courtships!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
In his long-sleeved silk outfit Ranma-kun was "playing"   
soccer with two 10-kg/20 lb. stones, bouncing them off a   
large boulder half-embedded in the ground, catching them   
with just his bare feet and kicking them back. Even as he   
was doing that he was digging out another from the soft,   
damp earth beside the river.  
  
A voice up on the concrete levee said, "I would've   
thought you would avoid being near water when you could."  
  
His head still at a 90-degree angle to his neck caught   
one of the stones so he could look at the speaker, "And   
*I* would've thought you'd avoid bein' a girl when you   
could."  
  
The blackhaired Kane-chan told him, "I didn't think I   
could. Not with what's happened to you today. I went back   
and used the hot water dispenser in Dr. Tofu's office."   
She'd also picked up a sheet that had covered one of the   
Doctor's beds. This she'd wrapped around her sort of   
sari-like to cover her badly torn Furinkan dress.   
  
Ranma-kun tossed his stone into the other one he'd kept   
kicking. The second stone bounced off of that and back at   
the boulder. The first stone, Ranma-chan started kicking   
again. He'd stopped looking at Kane-chan.   
  
Kane-chan came down the large waffled slope of the levee,   
"I bet even in this body I can pick up that large boulder   
out of the ground and toss it into the river." Even she   
knew it was a dumb thing to say, but she couldn't think   
of anything else to start a conversation. It was the guy   
in her.  
  
The blackhaired pigtailed guy continued doing what he was   
doing, unimpressed, "What a stupid idea. Don't you think   
*I* couldn't've done that? *I* know enough about a   
martial artist's responsibility NOT to throw things in   
where a boat or diver might hit it."  
  
Kane-chan felt the stab. Ranma-chan WAS more responsible   
than she was. Her first impulse was to go on the   
offensive: "Oh!? And so what do YOU do? You play games   
with it. If it's such a hazard waiting to happen, why   
don't you do something about it?"  
  
Ranma-kun caught the first stone back on his instep,   
"What would you have me do, break it up into small   
pieces? Maybe with one finger, yet."  
  
Kane-chan said, "Of course not with "one finger"!" She   
watched as the second stone was stopped by Ranma-kun's   
heel. But it's impact sent the first stone rolling up his   
leg and body and practically into his hands. It only   
reminded Kane-chan how much superior Ranma was. "But you   
CAN break stones! You DO know how to do karate, don't   
you!?!"  
  
Ranma-kun seemed to think a moment, "Do I? Gee, why don't   
you show me." And single-handedly, he tossed the stone he   
held towards her.  
  
Kane-chan used only one small hand to shove it back,   
"Jerk!" Her aim was off.  
  
Ranma-kun had misjudged the girl's ability. He had to   
quickly try to bend his body and tilt his head to the   
right to get out of the way of heavy stone. His injured   
neck almost didn't allow him to get out of the way in   
time. It glanced off his cheek and jaw.  
  
Kane-chan was strong for a girl, but the stone just   
missed making the short distance into the river.   
  
Kane-chan asked, "Are you okay?!" She was concerned, but   
more worried about the girl the guy became. Guys were   
expected to be tougher than girls.  
  
Ranma-kun was still standing, "Hnh! It'd take more 'n   
that to phase me when I got my defenses up." Suddenly he   
noticed the stiffness was gone, "Hunh??" He bent his neck   
right and left and then again, "Hey, I'm cured."  
  
Kane-chan's frown returned, "And more than just your   
neck, I see. Why ARE you acting relaxed and confident,   
now?" Since she'd found him by the river, this GUY wasn't   
like the uptight, over-reactive girl Ranma-chan had been   
lately.  
  
Ranma-kun told her, "Because I'm a guy, now." He tugged   
on his black Chinese shirt, "...Wearin' silk." He looked   
out at the river. "It took this river to remind me. When   
I came to all of this water, I nearly freaked out."   
  
He turned to her, "But I realized that wasn't me. This   
whole thing of isn't me." He kicked up a rock and caught   
it. (Kaneda instinctively backed up a couple of steps.)   
"I HAD thought I got my problem with bein' girl under   
control on my trip back from China." He casually tossed   
the 3-kg/6 lb. weight up and caught it. "Now, I think I   
was just distracted by havin' to look over my shoulder   
for something lavender, and all."  
  
Kane-chan had to ask, "What??"  
  
Ranma-kun shrugged broad shoulders, "All: The stuff that   
happened on my way back from China."   
  
Kane-chan thought that this might be a good time for   
Ranma to be a girl, Then maybe her verbal skills would   
be better. But being a girl WAS the problem her guy-half   
was trying to deal with. Looking for something to say,   
she said, "Uh...There are a lot of people in China."  
  
Ranma-kun started walking down the shore with his rock,   
"We stayed away from the cities. That was probably a   
mistake."  
  
Kane-chan still had to pull teeth, "So you didn't see   
many people?"  
  
Ranma-kun said, rolling it over and around in his hand,   
"Oh, we saw people! ...Rural, traditional types. And you   
couldn't help but let them see you."  
  
Kane-chan said, "You, you mean as the girl?"  
  
Ranma-kun hit the rock up into the air with his fist, "It   
was Pop's way of checkin' to see if I stayed a guy   
inside, I guess. Stupid Old Man, we were supposed to be   
hiding."   
  
Kane-chan watched Ranma-kun catch the rock in his palm.   
"But instead you had everybody staring at you? And I bet   
the women were the worse."  
  
Ranma-kun glanced over his square shoulder, "Yeah, how'd   
you know?"  
  
Kane-chan knew. "When you're a girl, people don't look at   
YOU. It's all about what you look like, act like on the   
outside." That was one of many reasons she didn't like   
being a girl.  
  
Ranma-kun looked ahead again, "It made me feel doubly   
foreign. So I guess I hid in plain sight, lettin' myself   
think the girl body was a disguise or something."  
  
Kane-chan nodded, "I can relate to that."  
  
Ranma-kun said, "Then this will help you feel better,"   
and he casually underhanded the rock.   
  
The longhaired Kane-chan hurried away from the splash   
from the river, "Hey!"  
  
Ranma-kun smiled as he spun around and walked backwards,   
"I thought you LIKED bein' a guy."  
  
Kane-chan told him, "I'm a girl to make you feel better!"  
  
Ranma-kun said, "Ha! I don't need you to make me feel   
better." And he turned his back on her.  
  
Kane-chan hurried after him, "Hey! Give me a chance!"   
  
The longer-legged Ranma-kun jumped into an empty boat   
tied up along the bank. "You have to catch me, first!"  
  
Kane-chan pulled up her skirt and jumped before he could   
get away in it. But Ranma-kun had already bounded out of   
it.  
  
Kane-chan leaped, too.  
  
She hadn't looked. Too late, she saw that Ranma-kun had   
landed on a lone pier rising out of the water.  
  
Kane-chan tried to back-peddle her bare legs away from   
the water. "WHO-OH!!"  
  
Splash!  
  
Ranma-kun's smile remained. He enjoyed the sight.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
His smile had dimmed a few minutes later when he was   
walking the residential streets of Nerima. He even   
fiddled a bit with the elastic bands on his sleeves. He   
was used to them around his ankles.  
  
Back in his Furinkan gray pants and white shirt, Kaneda   
was close behind him. Again with nothing better to say,   
he grumbled, "Now we're both guys."  
  
Ranma-kun said, "Yep. ' Guess there's no reason to hang   
around me."  
  
The redhaired Kaneda could think of a couple, including,   
You never know when you could become wet and the girl   
again. At least now I have strong shoulders you can lean   
on. Looking about for something to say, he saw the   
golden brass arc over the traffic mirror at the corner   
that let people see if there was a car coming. "I've got   
an idea. How much money do you have on you?"  
  
Ranma-kun said, "Why do you ask?"  
  
Kaneda said, "Lend me some, because I'm starving."  
  
Ranma-kun asked, "So am I. So why should I give you any   
money?"  
  
Kaneda told him, "Because you're staying for free at our   
house?" That didn't really register with Ranma. It was as   
Kaneda thought, Ranma-kun was used to his dad bumming   
room and board for them wherever he could. Kaneda said,   
"If you treat me, I'll treat you soon. I'm more likely to   
have money than you, right?"   
  
That did register with Ranma-kun, "I've worked."  
  
Kaneda crossed his muscular arms, "I'm the son of martial   
artists. ...PROUD martial artists."  
  
Ranma-kun's mood soured some. It WAS true: Ranma HAD   
worked before, and done things normally left to adults to   
do. But a lot of them he had had to do behind his pop's   
back. The Old Man had a list of things that were   
undignified for a people of their station to be seen   
doing. (Never mind some of the stupid things that WERE   
okay for them to do in public. How many times had Pop   
balanced Ranma on top of a "nimbus" ball as Ranma in a   
Monkey King costume spun plates on the end of a pole in   
front of a shop just for a couple of free dinners?) The   
only exception to his anti-manual labor list was if it   
could be made to look as if they were practicing their   
martial arts. "Anything can be used as martial arts   
practice!" Pop would then say out loud when somebody   
wandered by.   
  
And Kaneda had guessed that, too. "My Dad says Martial   
Arts Lumberjacking, Ditch-digging, and Plumbing were   
developed so people like us could keep our heads up."  
  
There! Pop WAS too concerned about saving his ugly face.   
Ranma could've have learned ALL of those by now, if he'd   
been allowed to have a real job. Wasn't the IDEA of us   
traveling for ten years was to learn different   
techniques!?! The list was probably there just because   
his pop was just too lazy to do hard work.   
  
What Ranma didn't know was why Genma insisted on fooling   
himself that he was an honorable man. It had to do with   
the self-respect and reputation he'd lost as a young man   
learning from the wrong master. And Genma being an orphan   
without a family or heritage of his own hadn't helped,   
either. Something else Ranma didn't know about.  
  
Kaneda said, "Why do you think I'm developing Martial   
Arts Carpentry? There's always the chance I could lose   
the dojo."  
  
Ranma-kun said, "Why HAVE a dojo? I was raised so I could   
hire myself out."  
  
Kaneda smiled a challenge, "Then you have the money?"  
  
Feeling his pride as a guy at stake, Ranma-kun said, "How   
much money do you need?"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Ranma had enough for a several hamburgers and a couple of   
shakes from the nearby Golden Arches. They'd taken the   
bag out to the flagstone courtyard in a nearby park and a   
bench around a tree. Ranma had to wonder again at how   
uncrowded Nerima was compared to most urban places in   
Japan. They were the only ones about.   
  
Not looking at each other, they ate their hamburgers in   
silence. That is they didn't talk to each other. They ate   
as noisily as any normal couple of guys. By the time   
they'd gotten to the shakes, they were listening to the   
other one slurp and chew.  
  
Kaneda won when he belched. In Japan, burping was a way   
of expressing to your host that you appreciated the meal.   
But the host only heard a belch. They were eating an   
American-style meal, and Ranma-kun knew enough about   
American customs to know what a belch meant to their   
guys. He had been around military bases, and tourists,   
too.   
  
Frowning, Ranma crumpled up the wrapper from his burger,   
and threw it for the waste can across the courtyard.   
  
Kaneda then did the same.  
  
Kaneda missed.   
  
The longhaired guy got up and went over to the litter   
he'd left on the ground. But he immediately returned to   
the bench with it.  
  
Sitting down, Kaneda aimed for the can, and got it in   
this time. Two points.  
  
Kaneda tried to look pleased. The can was so far away it   
should been three points.  
  
Ranma-kun said, "Whoopee."   
  
The guy-Ranma wasn't allowing Kaneda to be pleased.   
Kaneda took out the double cheeseburger from the bag   
between them.   
  
Ranma-kun said, "I ordered that."  
  
Kaneda took a big bite out of it. He didn't bother   
chewing it thoroughly. As soon as he could he forced it   
down his throat with a loud gulp. "Whoopee. There are no   
dibs."  
  
Ranma-kun had watched the Adam's apple move, "I'll   
remember that." He watched him take another large bite of   
the cheeseburger. "So, you're on the pill."  
  
Kaneda nearly choked to death. He'd only discovered this   
afternoon that Kasumi had been slipping birth control   
pills into his meals. It'd never occurred to him that he   
might NEED something like that. The cheeseburger, in   
pieces and inside a bun, fell on a very clean flagstone.   
  
Ranma-kun at least waited until Kaneda's stopped being   
blue in the face. "Aren't there side effects?"  
  
Now Kaneda turned pale.   
  
He whipped around, "No!! Do I look different from every   
OTHER guy!?"  
  
The pigtailed guy pretended to study him. Kaneda knew   
he'd allowed the opening.  
  
Ranma-kun said, "If I was interested, I'd ask about the   
size of your--"  
  
Kaneda told him, "It's thicker than yours, THAT much I   
know! I saw yours when you took a bath that first day."   
  
Ranma-kun quirked a smile, "So you ARE interested in   
guys."  
  
Kaneda made fists over his knees, "I am not!"   
  
The guy in the black "pajamas" took the last burger in   
the bag, "It's a good thing for you I try to keep in mind   
you're a girl, not a guy."  
  
Kaneda stifled his frustration. He had wanted it to be   
the other way around! He didn't mind too much if Ranma-  
chan was better at martial arts than he was (as if he had   
much of a choice), but there HAD to be something that   
would make her see him as a man!   
  
Unwrapping, Ranma-kun asked, "So, any side effects?"  
  
Kaneda was on his feet, talking down at the guy, "Not as   
a girl, either! Dr. Tofu has examined me enough times to   
know how LITTLE to give me. You HEARD him, it only has to   
take care of a, uh, um... Of only a FEW of my guy cells!"  
  
Ranma-kun finished what was in his mouth. Then, "Unless   
an ova remains behind after the change and ends up in   
their male counter part, the testicles."  
  
Feeling suddenly deathly ill, Kaneda plopped back down on   
the bench. "That...can...happen...?"  
  
Ranma-kun shrugged a male shoulder, as he finished the   
next bite. His mouth clear, "I really didn't pay that   
much attention to the sex ed. lectures I hadda put up   
with." He reached for his shake, "But it's funny what you   
know when you have a good reason to know."  
  
Kaneda stared, seeing nothing, "Why haven't I ever asked   
Dr. Tofu for the details about what happens, or DOESN'T   
happen, when I change?!"  
  
Ranma-kun slurped the last of his shake. "Because you're   
too much of a coward to want to know?"  
  
Kaneda's blue eyes became more focused, "And you're not?   
Have YOU let yourself be examined!? You KNOW unlike me   
your base form is as the girl."  
  
Ranma-kun refused to let the jerk get to him. "No it   
ain't. I started out as a guy and stay a guy until I   
hafta change."  
  
Kaneda thought HE had the advantage, now, in this guy   
contest, "Is: It is easier for you to be a girl than a   
guy. Being a guy is what you change INTO."  
  
Despite his promise to himself he wouldn't let things get   
to him again, Ranma-kun's hand squashed what remained of   
his burger. "That's not the way it works."  
  
Kaneda smiled, "There's only one way to find out."  
  
Ranma-kun frowned as he cleaned his hand with a paper   
napkin. He tossed it in his shake container, and tossed   
it, then all of his hamburger wrappers into the large bag   
they'd come in. This he crumpled up into a large ball and   
threw at the waste can.  
  
He missed.   
  
Ranma-kun got up, and walked to where the wadded up bag   
had fallen. He kicked it up with his bare instep, and   
bounced it off his knee into the can. One soccer point.   
  
His senses noticed a familiar sound that seemed oddly out   
of place. When Dr. Tofu came running by, Ranma-kun could   
see the guy was acting more than just odd. He was   
laughing as he gave his skeleton a piggyback ride.   
  
But that wasn't enough. The man in the black martial arts   
costume pulled the assembled bones from his back and   
tossed it high in the air as he held on by one of its   
hands. He leaped and spun and danced with her, never   
letting her bony feet touch the ground.   
  
Ranma-kun watched all of this in silence.   
  
Ranma-kun turned to the guy embarrassed for his mentor,   
"This is the guy I'm supposed to let examine me."  
  
Kaneda defended his coach, "It ONLY happens when Kasumi's   
around! You're not the ONLY one with a curse, you know!"  
  
Ranma-kun said, "Uh, hunh. And what does he change into   
when cold water gets him?"  
  
Kaneda got up, leaving his litter behind, "It's true! Dr.   
Tofu won't talk about it. But I got to talk to his mother   
once when we visited her." Actually, Kaneda had followed   
him out of worry when his couch had a particularly bad   
case. Dr. Tofu thought Kasumi wanted invite him to party.   
The girls were competing by bringing the best dates they   
could get. Tofu had heard and built his hopes up. But   
Kasumi didn't approve of the idea and didn't go. Not that   
the Doctor ever found out his mistake.  
  
Ranma-kun started walking, "And what excuse did his   
mother give." It wasn't a question.  
  
Kaneda continued on, "Mrs. Ono said that the same thing   
happened to Dr. Tofu's father before they were married.   
It happens to all of the men in his family whenever they   
find the women with the right positive power."  
  
Ranma-kun played along, "Power?"  
  
Kaneda hurried to get ahead of him, "Magical Power! It's   
the Law of Sympathy, or something like that. "Like   
affects like"."  
  
Ranma-kun said mildly sarcastically, "Oh, you know about   
magic?"  
  
Kaneda said, "I've lived with changing into a girl all of   
my life. You don't think I'd want to find out why and   
how?" And I certainly wasn't getting any answers from   
Dad.  
  
Ranma-kun accepted that.  
  
Kaneda said, "I've studied what I could about magic. But   
Dr. Tofu discouraged me from going very deep into it. He   
says without the right protection, it's too dangerous."  
  
Ranma-kun remained sarcastic, "The "right protection",   
like HE has."  
  
Kaneda slipped past the shorter Ranma-kun, "Yes! That's   
what this whole deal with Kasumi is about. She has the   
power Dr. Tofu needs."  
  
Ranma-kun looked at the guy briefly, and in disbelief,   
"Kasumi, your older sister, has a magic power?" He then   
hopped the bushes beside the lane.  
  
Kaneda told him, "She DOES!!" and leaped to follow Ranma-  
kun on the grass. "Haven't you felt it?!"  
  
Ranma-kun still wasn't buying it, "I guess I was too busy   
lettin' my problem become my trouble."   
  
Kaneda rushed to get in front of him, "She's got the   
"Protection of the Innocent"."  
  
Ranma-kun picked up his speed, "What I know about things,   
being innocent doesn't protect you." He snorted, "Hnh! It   
can be just the opposite."  
  
Kaneda stopped to assert, "Not when you've got magic on   
your side! And magic is all about the mental construct   
you give it." He had to jog, now, "Kasumi uses her   
strange interpretation of zen to give herself the "Bliss   
of Ignorance". THAT'S when Dr. Tofu started acting like   
he does around her!"  
  
Ranma-kun saw a wall, and headed for it. "So, her magic   
ignorance is protecting her from that guy."  
  
It finally looked like Kaneda would get ahead of Ranma-  
kun, "As best as I can figure it, Kasumi is like a   
powerful river. Her bliss comes from the flow of the   
routines she can find in her life. Her protection comes   
because that flow is strong enough to sweep anything that   
disturbs it down with its current."  
  
Ranma-kun easily leaped over Kaneda's head. Kaneda had to   
spin around. "Dr. Tofu is like a waterwheel: He uses   
Kasumi's flow for HIS power!" Though she was probably   
more like an auxiliary motor; Kaneda was sure the Doctor   
had other sources of magic.  
  
Ranma-kun stopped to crouch on the wall top, "Oh, right:   
The crazier her acts, the more powerful he's getting.   
Brother!"   
  
Kaneda knew Ranma-kun was looking down on him, "Rivers   
have swells--Surges! That's what happens when Kasumi gets   
too close to him! There's just too much of her presence."  
  
Ranma-kun shook his male head, and stood up, "She floods   
his mind, and like a river, isn't aware of it. She can't   
be "Ignorant" and "Blissful" all of the time."  
  
Kaneda told him, "That's when the river is changing its   
bank. Rivers are always meandering. But they're ALWAYS   
flowing towards the same place, the sea. And after that--  
"  
  
Ranma-kun walked away, hands in his pockets, "Talk about   
mental constructs. I think you're just scared to go   
against your big sister."  
  
Kaneda said, "Then I challenge YOU to stand up to her."  
  
Ranma-kun said, " ' Sure will. The first time she wants   
me to do something I don't."   
  
Kaneda used his longer legs to catch up, "Just let me   
know when you do. I want to be there to see it happen to   
you, too."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
They didn't talk to each other for minutes more. Kaneda   
finally said, "Speaking of silk."  
  
Ranma-kun said, "I wasn't talkin' about anything. And I   
ain't listenin'."  
  
Kaneda said, "I know you can see flaws in me comparing   
Kasumi to a river. But there are flaws in all magical   
constructs. The magic of an idea only works as long as   
you can make it work for you. THAT'S where your idea   
about silk protecting you from getting pregnant comes in.   
It may work for you, but it won't work for me, because I   
can see the flaws in the logic."  
  
The pigtailed guy continued on his walk along the walls,   
"You're tryin' to get back at you for tryin' to ignore   
you by pointin' out the flaws in my logic. ' Get me to   
doubt that silk is be my talisman."  
  
Kaneda said, "No!"  
  
Ranma-kun squatted down to look him directly at the guy   
with the stupid red hair, "Well it won't work. I'm too   
stubborn. I'll believe what I want to believe no matter   
what anybody's got to say. And now that I got my self-  
confidence back, I can reinforce that with positive   
energy. That's why I'm so good bein' martial artist."  
  
Kaneda heard Ranma-kun's boast as a challenge. Fighting   
against himself to respond to it, Kaneda said, "If I   
WANTED you to get pregnant, I could keep repeating, "Your   
body keeps more sperm cells than you think". If I say   
that over and over again, your subconscious WILL start   
letting it happen."  
  
He hung his head, "Of course, that would mean I'd   
probably convince my own before yours."  
  
Ranma-kun said, " ' Shows how much confidence you have in   
yourself." Then he laughed, "But thanks! I'll just keep   
tellin' myself that ALL of the things stay where they're   
supposed to stay."   
  
Kaneda glared up at him, "That will only work once you   
have the confidence to get over your silk fetish. ARE you   
so sure in your ability to believe what you want to   
believe? Any little doubt, and you WILL become pregnant."  
  
WHAM! Kaneda HAD met the challenge. Ranma-kun was thrown.   
Now to keep the guy in her off-balance, "Why not try for   
something you can SEE. Get yourself to believe that you   
DON'T have to change."  
  
Angry, Ranma-kun speed up his travel along the walls, "I   
know enough about magic to know that won't work. It   
wasn't MY idea to keep changing into a girl."  
  
Kaneda jogged after, "--Or mine!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Kaneda asked, "We're stopping at the clinic again?"  
  
Ranma-kun told him, "I forgot my schoolbag."  
  
Kaneda realized, "So did I!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
The panda stopped pacing the lobby when it saw Ranma-kun   
come in. THEN it frowned even more when it saw Kaneda   
come in behind him.  
  
The black-and-white animal came up to Ranma and began to   
lecture him about something, "Berao baru byoroa mummba,   
rramaaru!"  
  
Ranma-kun walked by it. "Geez, you'd think Pop'd use some   
hot water to change back."  
  
Kaneda coldly looked at it, "Maybe he likes being a   
panda."  
  
The huge animal swung its attention onto the outsider.   
  
Kaneda met its beady gaze, "Do you feel man enough to   
take me on?"  
  
The panda held up a sign, [That's supposed to be Ranma's   
line!]  
  
Kaneda told it, "Ranma thinks I'm a girl."  
  
The panda signed, [But you LOOK like a guy!!]  
  
Kaneda thumbed his chest, "I'm every bit a guy as Ranma's   
a girl! We DO have the same curse, you know."  
  
The panda growled in frustration. It's claws twitched,   
readying themselves for--  
  
Ranma-kun poured a teakettle of hot water over it, "Leave   
AKANE alone, Pop."  
  
Genma told his son, pointing, "Did you HEAR what that boy   
just said, Ranma!?! WHY do you let him get away with   
treating you like that!?! Challenge him to a real man-to-  
man fight and get this nonsense over with!!"  
  
His bookbag over one shoulder, Ranma-kun pushed his old   
man towards the door, "I'll explain things on the way   
back."  
  
Kaneda noticed that Ranma-kun had only his bookbag. And   
there was also the matter of, "Hey, if Mr. Saotome works   
here, who's going to close up the clinic?!"  
  
The male teen said, "I guess you are. You DO like the   
doctor." And he tossed Kaneda the teakettle, "Why don't   
you make yourself pretty for him."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
It was sunset on another unusually beautiful April day in   
Nerima. The first couple of days Ranma'd arrived with its   
on-again-off-again rain and storms were typical for the   
latitude Greater Tokyo was in this time of year. But   
Ranma wasn't about to complain about this good spell of   
weather, especially as long as he was under the bad spell   
of Juusenkyo.  
  
The man in the white gi, as usual, tried to do keep the   
offensive, "Ranma, did you hear what that BOY said? He   
asked me if I were MAN enough to take him on!"  
  
Ranma-kun said, "Yeah, so?"  
  
His sensei told his only student, "That's what YOU'VE got   
to do! If he's got you thinking of him as a girl, then   
challenge him THAT way. Be MAN enough to take her on that   
way: Man-to-girl!"  
  
Ranma-kun said, "That's just about the most disgusting   
plans you've ever come up with, Pop. Even if Akane were a   
girl all the time, I wouldn't do it. I've never been into   
that whole boy/girl thing. YOU of all people should know   
that."  
  
Genma now had to regret the way he brought up his son,   
now. If he hadn't had his own life ruined by an evil   
gnome, then his approach as a father may have been   
different. The last thing he had thought he wanted was to   
have to deal with another pervert. "What am I to do with   
you, Boy! You refuse to treat Soun's child as EITHER a   
guy or a girl! How DO you intend to get rid of Kaneda?!"   
  
The teenager asked casually, "If I get rid of Akane, what   
will you do?"  
  
Genma told him, "Why, I'd get you engaged to a fine,   
proper young girl. Kasumi Tendou, for example. There's a   
girl who knows how to be the traditional, ideal woman.   
Let me do the matchmaking, and you don't have to know   
ANYTHING about women."  
  
Ranma-kun said, "There: YOU'RE the reason why I don't   
want to get rid of Akane, yet. Why stop makin' you   
unhappy. As long as she doesn't try to do anything when   
she's a guy, I don't see the advantage of being rid of   
her."  
  
Genma said, "He's TRYING to make a girl out of you,   
Boy!!"  
  
Ranma-kun said, "Yeah, that WAS gettin' to me. I was even   
startin' to forget she was really a girl." Then he said   
more to himself, "But the curse is the curse! To forget   
would be like sayin' I'm not a guy when I'm not." He   
looked at his pop for the first time, "But I AIN'T gonna   
forget!" It had the intensity of a vow.   
  
He stopped on the bridge, "Look, Old Man, I realized   
today that the whole, damned world can believe I'm a   
girl, for all I care. It's ME who decides what I am. The   
outside doesn't really matter. What if I'd fallin' in the   
"Spring of Fat, Ugly, Bald Old Man"? Should I let myself   
act like one?"  
  
Genma said, "Of course not!" Only then did he suspect   
he'd been insulted.   
  
Ranma-kun was already looking ahead, at the goal he had   
set for himself, "Bein' fat would be the worse part. As a   
martial artist it'd gotta effect my skills. I'd have to   
start a whole new trainin' program just to compensate."  
  
Genma said, "Are you implying that I'm not at LEAST up to   
your level as a martial artist. C'mon, Boy! I'll show you   
just how fat this--"  
  
Ranma-kun tripped his pop over the railing of the river's   
bridge.  
  
Splash!  
  
The hard-muscled teen in the loose Chinese silk leaned   
against the railing as he looked down at the panda,   
"Bein' a girl most of the day at school HAS shown   
there're gonna be times when I am in the girl-body. If I   
have to go find some hot water so I can fight, it'd be   
almost as bad as havin' to have a guy save me."  
  
The panda swiped its paws up at the boy looking down at   
it. It loudly dared him to a fight there and then.  
  
The pigtailed guy cupped an ear, "What'd you say, Pop?!   
Bein' a girl isn't on your list of things that'd be   
undignified for me to do?!" He took his hand away, and   
raised it in a half-salute that turned into a good-bye   
gesture, "I'll remember to keep it lookin' like I'm   
learnin' new fightin' techniques!" He grinned, "After   
all: ANYTHING can be turned into martial arts trainin'!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
The sun still hadn't set when Kaneda walked in the front   
gate. He found the redhaired Ranma-chan going through her   
katas out in the area of sand in front of the dojo. He   
watched her for a few minutes. She had the cutest face   
and body he'd ever seen, even in the loose, black Chinese   
clothes she was wearing. Every movement would bring   
suggest another curve; and when that one was gone with   
the next movement, there was another curve to trace.   
Curves were what THIS little dynamo was about. It made   
him want to despise the skinny, straight-edged things   
called models. Even those who had something on top   
couldn't match Ranma-chan's. It wasn't just that hers   
were still free to move about. It was HOW they moved. She   
hadn't had much practice keeping them from jiggling about   
any more than had to. And what's more, she prided herself   
in being able to take aches and pains: Which meant it   
would take her even longer to learn how to wear her   
adipose. Hopefully, anyway.  
  
The trim, little redhead started taking glances his way.   
He knew he couldn't be a spectator any longer. Tossing   
his bookbag aside, he stepped into the arena, "Mind if I   
join you in your practice drills?"  
  
Ranma-chan said a little scornfully, "You think you can   
keep up?"  
  
The much taller Kaneda slipped right into the familiar   
routine she'd been doing, "In your present condition? As   
a guy, I can."  
  
In response, Ranma-chan turned a kick into a leap. While   
still in the air, she did a series of complicated   
thrusts, grabs, throws, and stomps that would've taken   
Kaneda a minute to complete on the ground.   
  
By the time she'd landed from that one jump, Kaneda had   
ground his movements to a halt. "I thought you weren't as   
good when you're the girl."  
  
Ranma-chan frowned at the idiot, "I'm not! These drills   
are just shadowboxin'. It almost doesn't matter if I'm a   
guy or a girl when I do them. I need somebody to spar   
against so I can learn to compensate for my shorter arms   
and legs, lighter weight, and all the other stuff I'm not   
attuned to, yet."  
  
Kaneda understood that. He, too, became the other sex.   
There were just too many differences in the two bodies to   
bring the skills you learned in one body without having   
to drastically compensate. So he had to ask, "How is it   
you're able to use your other body so well?"  
  
Ranma-chan went over the pail of water, "A martial   
artist's mental--TIRING--discipline. It's almost like   
learnin' to fight in a new style I'm not used to." She   
dipped her hand in the pail, and rubbed the water on her   
face to cool off, "That's why I've got to practice until   
it's second nature to me: Something I DON'T have to think   
about. Just do!"   
  
Kaneda had allowed his guard to be down:  
  
Splash!   
  
Drenching wet and angry, Kaneda ran! "That was a dirty   
trick! I don't WANT to be a girl, now!"   
  
Ranma-chan chased the redhaired guy, rubbing her hands   
together building up the heat of the friction while   
building up the heat of her battle aura, "You OWE me!!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Back in her apron Kasumi was in the kitchen preparing   
supper. Hearing the commotion outside, she smiled. "Mr.   
And Mrs. Temple Priests did sense the connection between   
those two. After one day, their enchanted pieces of red   
string already have them acting like SUCH good friends."  
  
The door opened and her brother came in yelling, "I'm not   
going to spar with you! The LAST thing I want is grapple   
with you as a girl!!"  
  
Ranma-chan pounced, "Ha!! I'll use the energy of your OWN   
anger to add to the heat of my "Saotome Instant Hot Water   
Attack" work!"  
  
Kaneda cried in outrage as he felt the water on him   
become hot enough to change him into a girl, too.   
  
But it hadn't been hot enough to change Ranma-chan. The   
pigtailed girl grabbed what remained of Kane-chan's dress   
and pulled her back out the door and towards the dojo.   
Ranma-chan explained, "Sparrin' ain't fightin'! You   
should be enough of a martial artist to know that!"  
  
Trying to rip enough of what remained of her uniform to   
get away, Kane-chan yelled, "Why don't you want to spar   
in my GUY form!?!"  
  
Before Ranma-chan could answer Kane-chan's broke out of   
the last of her outer clothes.   
  
She fled into the house and out the kitchen door in just   
her blue polka dot bra and panties.  
  
Ranma-chan chased after her, "Come back here and fight   
like a girl!!"  
  
When she had the kitchen to herself again, Kasumi   
realized, "Oh, my! BOTH Ranma and Akane have lost the red   
strings I sewed into their clothes! --And I didn't have a   
chance to sew a piece in Kaneda's uniform last night, I   
was so busy with the rest of his laundry!"  
  
Kasumi tried to decide if she should blush, "Oh, my! If   
it's not the red string's magic, what could be keeping   
them together?"   
  
Perhaps to have a cursed relationship, there has to be a   
relationship.   
  
  
  
The End of this chapter   
[Was the original, Takahashi-sama's Akane cursed as well?   
Can anybody be that blind to the truth on her own?] 


	19. 19: Served Cold

Ranma & Kaneda  
By Ron Dow75  
  
19: Served Cold  
  
  
The well-built 162 cm/64" teenage girl made a dash down   
the upstairs hall wearing just her polka dot bra and   
panties; angrily she yelled, "Don't you understand: I   
don't want to fight you! That's NOT the way I want   
things! I don't fight girls, either!"  
  
The better built 157 cm/62" teenage girl jogged behind   
her in baggy, black, silk pants suit; she almost casually   
said, "You just want to fight me when I'm not a girl."  
  
Her loose, long, black hair whipped as Kane-chan turned   
the corner away from her room, "Then be a girl!"  
  
The pigtailed Ranma-chan kept going, "And let you be a   
guy?" The redhead ricocheted off the wall between   
Nabiki's and Kasumi's doors.  
  
Kane-chan tried to pull the lav door shut in her face,   
"I'll be one as soon as I get to the water!"  
  
Ranma-chan stopped it with one small foot, "I'll only   
make it hot with my "Saotome Instant Hot Water Attack"!"   
  
Kane-chan's hand moved to the sink's tap. But she didn't   
turn it on.  
  
Ranma-chan saw she was coming to see that, "It's a fair   
match. I can change you into a girl as easily as you to   
change me." Well, that wasn't quite true. Besides having   
to create enough friction, a certain intensity of battle   
aura was needed. Its Chi energy not only amplified the   
heat, it also kept her from burning her hands.   
  
Kane-chan did see. It was still true that Ranma was more   
likely to change than Kaneda was. There was just MORE   
cold water around. That was Kaneda's chief argument why   
Ranma should stay a girl. But the pressure that had   
seemed to come from all sides for Ranma to be a girl had   
caused her to click onto a piece of the puzzle. It had   
actually spurred Ranma's fighting spirit to adjust FASTER   
to her curse than she would have without them. And now   
Ranma had started to regain her balance after these last   
hectic days since she arrived at the Tendous.   
  
Now the question was just how serious Ranma was about   
having Kane-chan stay in her girl form?  
  
Head held high, Kane-chan walked out, getting some   
satisfaction from making Ranma-chan step aside for her.  
  
There was one thing Kane-chan knew: ONE of them had to be   
the girl.  
  
Kane-chan jiggled down the hall in her just her taffeta   
lingerie for her bedroom.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Ranma-chan followed Kane-chan down downstairs, "You're   
just stallin'. If you really need one, an ordinary bra   
will do."  
  
Kane-chan was in her spare yellow do-gi, and was wearing   
something with it Kaneda normally didn't wear, a tee   
shirt, "Look, not all of us can be battle maidens, like   
you!" Her natural anger was still there, but she was   
trying to keep it low. "Of course, if you want to prove   
how tough you are, WEAR an ordinary bra while you're   
fighting."  
  
Ranma-chan said, "I'm not gonna wear a bra."  
  
Kane-chan said, "And I really don't want you to." She was   
serious. The busty Ranma-chan put on more of a show that   
way.   
  
Meanwhile Kane-chan was glad when she got to the bottom   
of the stairs and didn't have to think about her own   
show. "I promise, if Kasumi hasn't bought me a sports   
bra, I'll let her tell me how to wrap my chest."  
  
Ranma-chan's slender brows knit, "That'll delay things at   
least until its time for supper."  
  
The blackhaired girl slowed as she looked over her   
shoulder, "Why DO you want to spar with me like this?   
It'd make more sense to recalibrate your martial arts   
skills against a guy.  
  
"Or do you plan on fighting a lot of girls?" Perhaps the   
girl in front of you? If she's decided she can take me on   
when we're both girls, I lose the one of the very few   
edges I have over Ranma.  
  
But Ranma hadn't gone that far in her adjustment, "When   
you started your martial arts trainin', did your sensei   
prefer you learn with somebody your own age and level?"  
  
Kane-chan turned around again, "My dad's the dojo master.   
I used to spar with him a lot!"  
  
The cute redhead said, "But he had to hold back. You   
needed somebody about my own height, and weight and such   
to establish your norm. Once I got a feel for what I'm   
startin' out with, I can THEN challenge it. --And so do   
you! I know you could've done better in the guys' can   
today when you were the girl."  
  
Kane-chan wasn't in the mood to admit Ranma-chan might   
know what she was talking about. But it did have her want   
to marry her and make her a partner in running the family   
dojo that much more.   
  
Ranma-chan sneezed. "Is somebody talkin' about me?"  
  
Kane-chan said, "If you sneezed every time somebody   
talked about you, you'd sound like a bad day in allergy   
season."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Inside the kitchen with Kasumi was Nabiki. The bobbed   
girl in the shorts and loose tee shirt over a halter   
smiled at them, "And speak of the young lady." Kane-chan   
knew that Nabiki had purposely placed herself next to   
Kasumi for the big confrontation.   
  
Ranma-chan pushed Kane-chan aside, "I haven't 'thanked'   
you yet for makin' everybody think I really AM a girl!"  
  
Kasumi asked, "Oh, my! Nabiki, what have you done?!"  
  
The coppery Nabiki explained, "I just did what you both   
wanted. I got little brother his fiancee."  
  
Ranma-chan said, trying to control her rage, "I TELL   
myself I don't fight girls!" She looked around the   
kitchen, "But there are other things I can do!"  
  
Kane-chan told Kasumi, "Nabiki told everybody in Assembly   
Hall about Ranma being BORN a girl!" Unlike Nabiki,   
Kaneda invested a lot of belief in that.  
  
Ranma-chan cried, "What'd you mean "ABOUT"!!?" She was   
holding sticks of yakitori between each finger of each   
fist.   
  
If Kane-chan's wish wasn't going to go unchallenged, at   
least she could believe Ranma was always meant to be a   
girl. It wasn't a big leap for somebody who believed she   
was meant to be a guy.  
  
The mistress of the house got in the way of Ranma's aim   
at Nabiki. Kasumi pleaded, "This is for supper!"  
  
Still confident in her emotional aikido skill, Nabiki   
made the smaller redhead an offer, "It WILL cost much   
less to get the documentation to prove Kei Tendou   
exists."   
  
Kasumi asked, "Kei Tendou? Is he a relative of--" She   
closed the refrigerator door, "Please, let's not waste   
food." She was ignoring that Ranma-kun was capable of   
turning the yakitori skewers into serious weapons.  
  
Ranma-kun took a step to the right, found his target, and   
flicked his wrists. The pieces of meat flew off the   
skewers and would've hit Nabiki if Kane-chan hadn't   
pushed his arm at the last second. Kane-chan told Ranma,   
"You don't fight girls? Haven't you heard of food   
fights?"  
  
Nabiki calmly ignored the solid sounds the impact of the   
chicken made around her. She was concentrating on   
justifying what she'd done, "And I hear Ranma's already   
getting the sympathy vote at school. That'll help when   
she tries to show up as a guy."  
  
The redhead grabbed some dishes; "What does THAT mean!?!"  
  
Nabiki folded her arms, "Which is the bigger pervert: A   
girl who changes into a guy?" She gave her most   
challenging gaze, "Or a guy who changes into a girl?"  
  
Ranma said defiantly, "I AM a guy!" She was momentarily   
distracted from using his weapons. Nabiki had a hold on   
Ranma's emotions through his chi.   
  
Brown-eyed Nabiki looked at her evenly, "Just as your   
daddy raised you to believe. You'd do just about anything   
to live the life he's laid out for you."  
  
As the belittled girl raised the dishes, Kasumi took them   
from the pigtailed girl, "And THIS is a waste of money!"  
  
Nabiki said, "Anything you break in the house, you'll   
have to pay for."  
  
Kane-chan tossed something, "Here, Ranma, use this!"  
  
Ranma caught the half-full, galvanized pail. Nabiki, too   
late, saw that Kane-chan was holding a mop. That meant   
that the pail had--  
  
Splash!  
  
Only Nabiki's assertion of her dignity kept the drenched   
oneesan from screaming in outrage.  
  
Kane-chan smiled at the sister who liked to taunt her,   
"Join the club."  
  
Ranma almost smiled, "Yeah, when you look at it that way,   
it is almost satisfying."  
  
Eldest sister Kasumi looked at Nabiki with some sympathy,   
but said, "Oh, my! Well, at least nothing was wasted.   
That was water I was recycling from the bath."  
  
Wet Nabiki's hair was closer to her head now; "Now I'M   
going to have to take a bath."  
  
Ranma-chan's smile got bigger, "This does get better. *I*   
know how irritatin' it is to have to take more 'n one   
bath a day."  
  
Mischievous Kane-chan put a pitcher under the kitchen   
tap, "We'll be waiting when you're finished, Nabiki." It   
was while she was doing this that Kane-chan noticed the   
pervasive, strong but low-level energy of had shifted   
away from Nabiki.  
  
Kasumi looked around, saying, "It IS better to use clean   
water than dirty. Especially in the kitchen." She'd have   
to do a little extra cleaning, but it apparently hadn't   
damaged anything or gotten in any food. "Just be careful   
around the paper walls and tatami mats. Those ARE   
expensive."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Kasumi said to Kane-chan, "Yes, I have some sports bras   
waiting for you.  
  
"Here, Akane, watch things for me while I get you one."  
  
Ranma-chan watched the only woman of the house leave. "Is   
this gonna take long?"  
  
The girl in the do-gi stirred the pot with some force,   
"Why are you so impatient? We can spar after supper."  
  
Ranma-chan said, "Sparrin's always better on an empty   
stomach."  
  
Kane-chan saw that oneesan hadn't put in all of the   
ingredients. "Just think of it as training; you can't   
always plan your fights according around your meal   
times." She put in both the chopped and unchopped   
scallions, the whole carrots, daikon radish, and whatever   
else she could find in soup.   
  
The pigtailed girl told her, "I'm tryin' to establish a   
baseline for this body, I--" She stopped to ask, "What   
are you doin'?"  
  
Kane-chan told her, "I'm helping Kasumi," picking up the   
condiments near the pot.   
  
Ranma-chan said, "I'm glad you've decided to act like a   
girl, but--"  
  
Suddenly Kane-chan squeezed too hard on box of salt, "I'm   
NOT trying to cook! --Oh, no!! Look at all the salt that   
got in there!!"  
  
Ranma-chan peeked into the pot. "Talk about a waste of   
food."  
  
The wildhaired girl had begun to panic, "No, it's not!!   
The opposite of salt is sugar! I'll just put the same   
amount of sugar in!"  
  
Ranma said, "Sugar is NOT the antidote to salt!"   
  
But Kane-chan wasn't listening, "If YOU think you know   
how to cook, tell me what IS?!" She reached for the   
spices.   
  
Ranma-chan grabbed Kane-chan's hand before she could   
waste again.  
  
But Kane-chan picked the nutmeg up with her left; "We've   
HAVE to have this for supper!!" After dumping those in,   
she picked up the thyme, "We HAVE to save this!!"  
  
Ranma-chan told her, "Nothing's gonna save this!"  
  
The blackhaired girl dumped in bay leaves, "But Kasumi is   
changing her banks!!"  
  
Ranma-chan said, "Make sense!" And she grabbed both of   
the girl's arms, "And STOP making things worse!"  
  
Kasumi said, a look of real worry on her face, "That's   
exactly what's happening! Nabiki came in here because she   
thought Kasumi would protect her from you..."  
  
Now Ranma-chan KNEW Kane-chan'd lost it, "Your big   
sister, Kasumi, protect anybody?"  
  
Kane-chan's dark eyes was lost to the here-and-now,   
"...But when Kasumi found out what Nabiki had done, she   
LET Nabiki be punished! She withdrew her favor!"  
  
Ranma-chan, of course, was familiar with the traditional   
way the Japanese punished one of their own. It was   
something a Behaviorist would understand. "Nabiki's   
persona non grata?" She smiled, "Until she's bows and   
begs forgiveness, she's to be ignored by everybody!?!"   
Ranma didn't think Nabiki could humble herself easily.   
That made the prospect of seeing her do it even MORE   
appealing to Ranma. Of course, as an outsider, I'd have   
to spy to see that.  
  
Kane-chan shook her head, "Kasumi can't stay mad at   
anybody. But she IS going to let what's going to happen   
happen. She's not going to intervene to protect Nabiki   
from her Karma. And who knows what THAT will lead to!"  
  
Ranma-chan raised an eyebrow, "Uh, yeah. Sure. Your mild-  
mannered sister is more powerful than Karma."  
  
Kane-chan glared at the pigtailed girl mocking her, "You   
don't think a saint or Bodhisattva can!?! That's   
what they do!!"  
  
Ranma-chan said, "Now you're saying your sister is--"  
  
Tall and feminine Kasumi came back, "I brought you the   
plain white one, Akane; but I have this cute one with--"  
  
Kane-chan confessed immediately, "I'm sorry, Kasumi! I   
ruined the soup!" What she'd sense happening around   
Nabiki had clearly spooked her.  
  
Kasumi said, "You did?" She sounded disappointed, but not   
upset.   
  
Ranma-chan said, "She said you're a saint." Then she got   
a twinkle in her blue eyes, "I guess she didn't think   
simple food wasn't good enough for her idol."  
  
Kasumi blushed modestly, "I'm not a saint, but it was   
just yesterday I was told I have a pure heart." She was   
just being honest; it didn't cross her mind it might   
sound like she was bragging. She smiled to her sister,   
"Oh, my, I just thought of something. If you're going to   
get married, somebody has to do the cooking."  
  
Ranma-chan said, "Unless its over an open fire, it's not   
gonna be me."  
  
Kasumi's brow knit, "Oh, my. Firewood in the city CAN be   
expensive."  
  
Kane-chan raised her small chin, "I'll be the one,   
Kasumi!"  
  
Her oneesan asked, "YOU want to learn the marital arts,   
Akane?" This was a hopeful sign.   
  
Ranma-chan said to Kane-chan, "And you say you want to be   
a "man". You think she's gonna punish you, too, just for   
ruinin' one supper?"  
  
Kane-chan told her, "It's not like that! Honestly!"  
  
Kasumi asked, "Punished?! If you think training in the   
marital arts is punishment, Akane, then you shouldn't do   
it. It is all about having the proper spirit..."  
  
Kane-chan knew she'd fallen into the river Kasumi. The   
current wasn't strong enough to keep her from swimming   
back to shore. But Kane-chan could feel how much her   
oneesan wanted to be assured. Somebody had to be able to   
take over her duties. Only then could Kasumi think about   
leaving this house and moving on with her life.   
  
Kane-chan took one last look at Ranma-chan. Her fiancee's   
words earlier about how to train came back to haunt her.   
"...your sensei preferred you to start out with somebody   
your own age and level..." Ranma-chan WOULD be a better   
dojo master.  
  
Kane-chan sighed, and bowed her head to what she owed her   
big sister, "If it'll make you happy, I'll try." I'd   
better work on getting Ranma to think the way a girl   
should, or I'm going to end up a *Ouch!* househusband.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Man! How very UN-manly. How Un-Japanese! thought as she   
pulled her tee shirt back on her. The fact that she was   
wearing a sports bra under it didn't argue against those   
thoughts. "Househusband"!! It has GOT to be love. What   
else could make a guy volunteer for that! But one of   
them had to do it if Kasumi was to satisfied. It was love,   
alright, but more for her sister, and her Tofu-sensei.   
For THEY to get married, the Family had to prove they   
could get on without her.  
  
There had to be some way to weaken her feeling of   
obligation, "Kasumi, why DIDN'T you tell you knew that I   
could change into a girl? If I knew somebody knew, I   
might have been a girl more often." And I could be more   
comfortable with being one, now.  
  
Ranma-chan said, "Aw, geez! I KNEW we weren't gonna   
workout before supper." She grabbed the teakettle from   
off the stove.  
  
Kasumi handed Kane-chan the vegetable platter she'd   
prepared; Ranma-chan was still a guest. "I've explained   
to you. It had to be entirely your own idea. You seemed   
happy as a guy, so Mother only stepped in when you were   
having trouble. There were only small ones when you were   
a child."  
  
She picked up the tray barbeque sauce and leftovers she'd   
gotten from the refrigerator and directed them out the   
kitchen door, "I guess when you got older and whether you   
were a boy or a girl became more important, I should have   
stepped in and told you. You could have had somebody you   
could confide in, besides Nabiki." She lowered her head   
in shame, "The troubles you're having ARE my fault."   
  
Kane-chan now felt awful, "No, Kasumi, I wasn't trying to   
blame anybody! Honestly!" Losing one's self to the cares   
of the present, and unable to see the forest for the   
trees seemed to be one of the conditions a person needed   
to be pure of heart. At least it was in naïve Kasumi's   
case.   
  
Ranma-kun put down the kettle and picked up the pitcher,   
"It sounded to me like you were. But blame your Old Man,   
like I blame mine!"  
  
Kane-chan kneed her in the back of his thigh, "Then why   
don't you punish HIM!?" Why didn't *I* change into a guy   
when I had the chance? *Sigh* Because I promised I'd stay   
ready to spar with Ranma.  
  
Ranma-kun's back broadened as he stopped the line. He   
turned and was about to tell the impudent girl about all   
the things he WAS doing to punish her pop. ...But just   
about every example he came up with was something he   
would've done to him whether or not he'd become cursed.   
And he DIDN'T want to let Akane know he wanted to stay   
engaged to her. She might take it personally.  
  
Ranma-kun scowled and headed towards the family room.   
"Don'tcha understand ANYTHING about how family works!!?"   
she yelled back in frustration.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
The line was momentarily halted again when Ranma-kun   
stared at Nabiki sitting casually with her father and the   
panda beside the family table. She had deliberately   
changed into the slacks, shirt and tie she'd worn in   
Assembly Hall when she tried to sabotage Ranma-kun's   
life. He WOULD enjoy seeing this all-too-sure-of-herself   
bitch humbled.   
  
He had brought the pitcher of water.   
  
Nabiki challenged him in that steady voice of hers,   
"Remember the paper walls and tatatmi mats, Saotome."  
  
Smaller Kane-chan reminded Ranma-kun, "There's always the   
chance magic will dry things out again."  
  
Seeing her for the first time, Soun Tendou rose from his   
place, "Miss Akane Saotome!" he smiled. "You shouldn't be   
serving. You're a GUEST in this house!"  
  
Kane-chan had forgotten. His dad's shame wouldn't let him   
deal with Kaneda, his only son, changing into a girl.   
Instead, he had decided the girl WAS, in fact, a stranger   
who looked exactly like his dear wife. I guess it's one   
step forward, two steps back. At least he's TRYING to   
find a way to acknowledge my girl half. His subconscious   
probably wants to make up for ignoring the "daughter" he   
also had. That was as close as Kane-chan could come to   
admitting she wasn't meant to be a guy.   
  
Kasumi smiled, pleased, "Father, Akane is practicing. She   
has agreed to let me teach her the marital arts."  
  
Soun Tendou's smile grew brighter, "Is that correct, Miss   
Akane?"  
  
The panda signed, [Is it?}  
  
Kane-chan tried to smile, "Er, that's right, Mr. Tendou!"   
And as she carried the platter over the threshold, her   
own foot got in the way of the other.  
  
Soun cried, "AKANE!!"  
  
Kasumi cried, "Oh, my!" seeing this food about to be   
wasted, too.  
  
The panda signed, [Save supper!]  
  
The pigtailed guy reached out with his strong, free arm   
catching Kane-chan under her breasts, and saving her   
fall.   
  
But water managed to escape out of the pitcher: Splash!  
  
The wet Nabiki accused, "You did that on purpose!"  
  
Ranma-kun used the top of the pitcher to rescue the   
platter still in Kane-chan's outstretched hands. The   
lighter Kane-chan was mortified, I feel like a stupid,   
clumsy, damsel!  
  
Oneesan Kasumi had entered the room now with her own   
tray, "Oh, my, how nice. Only the cushion got wet."  
  
Nabiki said, "That's cold, sis," and then shivered a bit.   
The open garden door chilled the water more than it   
already was.  
  
Kasumi went to set her tray down, "I'm sorry, Nabiki.   
I'll go and get some towels."  
  
As Ranma-kun set Kane-chan and then the platter-balancing   
pitcher down, Nabiki tried to play one of her cards   
against him, "How much extra laundry work will Kasumi   
have to do if you keep pulling the water stunt, Saotome?"   
  
Her father put his hand on Nabiki's hand before she could   
get up, "Stay, Nabiki. I want you here."  
  
Coppery Nabiki stayed, but protested, "Look at me. I'm   
wet, Daddy."  
  
The mustached man cleared his throat without looking,   
"Uh, hem! Yes, I know."  
  
Nabiki's gold shirt was fairly thick, but wet, it clung   
to her body, with the red necktie weighed down into her   
bosom.   
  
Soun asked, "Akane, if you will not consider my son, how   
about another of my family? Say, Nabiki?"  
  
Backfaults all around the table: Kane-chan, Ranma-kun,   
Nabiki and the panda.  
  
Nabiki was the first to regain her voice, "Daddy!" so   
much for her infamous self-composure.  
  
'Akane' said, "You can't be serious!"  
  
Soun looked very uncomfortable, but he continued on, "If   
I am wrong about your interest in females of the same   
gender, Miss Akane, I deeply apologize!"  
  
The panda signed, [The problem is she IS interested only   
in girls!]  
  
Kane-chan said, "But NOT her!! She's my sister!"  
  
The longhaired Soun nodded, not hearing what he didn't   
want to, "If you become my daughter-in-law, Nabiki would   
become like your sister. But if you, uh, become like a   
couple, you can be more."  
  
Indignant Nabiki said, "I do not want to be "more". I   
barely tolerate being her sister."  
  
With a touch of sadness, Soun almost a smile, "Then, then   
it is as I have wondered these past years. You feel no   
sense of sisterhood, of, of womanliness."   
  
Nabiki nearly lost her cool over this bit of illogic, "I   
like guys! Believe me!"  
  
Ranma-kun thought he understood, "Oh, that's why you're I   
see you wearin' pants whenever you're outa uniform. You   
like to be like them."  
  
Kane-chan said to Nabiki, "You DON'T wear dresses or do   
the typical girl things, do you?" Before sanity ended the   
chance, she was going to get back at her for the times   
she'd tormented her.   
  
Her dad nodded, saying wistfully, "No, she doesn't."  
  
Nabiki frowned, "What does that prove!?!" Now even her   
damp, clinging clothes were bothering her.  
  
The panda signed, [It's Karma!]  
  
Ranma-kun hit the animal across its head, "You were   
eavesdropping outside the kitchen!"  
  
Soun asked, " "Karma"?"  
  
Here was an idea for a tease Kane-chan could work with,   
"It IS your Karma catching up with you, Nabiki. You were   
a GUY before this life! THAT'S why you're so lousy at   
being a girl!"  
  
"Oh, my!!" Kasumi had returned at this moment.  
  
Nabiki told them, "I dress like I do because of business!   
People take you more seriously when you look more like a   
guy than a girl." Most guys WOULD be looking at her body   
right then.  
  
Kane-chan said, "Then why don't you wear business suits?"  
  
Ranma-kun said, "So you'd rather be a guy." He was half-  
serious. Apparently he was too earnest to tease well.   
  
The panda signed, [It's Karma. In her heart, she's still   
a guy.]  
  
Ranma-kun looked at uncombed Kane-chan, "Runs in the   
family, doesn't it?" This was definitely not a tease.   
  
Kane-chan wasn't insulted. Nabiki was. The bobhaired girl   
glared at them all.  
  
Kane-chan tried not to smile too hard. Nabiki's silence   
meant that, for once, she'd lost a battle of wits. She   
really wasn't under Kasumi's protection right then.   
  
Kasumi came over, knelt between her and their father, and   
offered Nabiki one of the clean towels. Nabiki took it   
and used it. She knew that if she left the table now it   
was as good as admitting defeat. She would bide her time,   
and wait for an opening.  
  
Meanwhile, Kasumi asked, "What is this about Karma?"  
  
Nobody really wanted to tell her.  
  
But Soun still felt he had to explain why he had started   
it. "Uh, it's about Miss Akane Saotome. She's only a   
guest in our house. I was trying to find a way to, uh,   
invite her into our family."  
  
Kasumi was quite pleased, "Oh, Father! After all these   
years."  
  
Nabiki said, "Wait until you find out HOW he wants her to   
join."  
  
Kane-chan said, "It's your fault. You should have made   
Akane a Tendou in the first place. You and your grand   
schemes."  
  
The panda signed, [Personally, I approve!]  
  
Ranma-kun told it, "I think we all know why you'd want   
Akane engaged to somebody else. You already tried to get   
her and "hitched up" to her guy Kaneda."  
  
Naive Kasumi was confused. " "Engaged"?" She looked over   
at Kane-chan.  
  
Her father told her, "Well, I was wondering if there is   
somebody else in this family who Miss Akane can be   
interested in besides Kaneda."  
  
Nabiki said, "I am not a lesbian."  
  
Kasumi blushed, "Oh, my!"  
  
Soun's blush deepened.   
  
Ranma-kun said, "It's not enough he wants to give one of   
his daughters to ME. He really is desperate, isn't he?"  
  
Kane-chan scowled at Ranma-kun, "And yours isn't!? Look,   
just as yours is yours, this one is MY dad. The ONLY   
thing he's done to me, as far as I'm concerned, is not   
tell me the truth."   
  
Ranma-kun said, "Okay, already. I get you. Family is   
family, and you gotta put up with them." He looked around   
the table, "No matter how much they try and screw up your   
life."  
  
Kasumi hesitated. Then, "Father, if you're that--"   
  
Still kneeling, Kane-chan hopped over beside Nabiki:   
"Don't you dare, Kasumi!" And she grabbed Nabiki's arm   
and leaned her head on it. "I've decided I want Nabiki   
after all!"  
  
Nabiki's brown eyes glared down at her, "Don't think I'll   
let you get away with this little game."  
  
Kane-chan drew upon all of times she'd watched Nabiki do   
you melodramatic turn: " "Game"?" She acted hurt, "If I'm   
serious. If I'm not, my name isn't Akane Saotome." She   
then glanced across the table at Ranma-kun, "--Or his   
name is Kei Tendou."  
  
That roused Ranma, "Hey, yeah! WHO'S been playin' games   
with peoples lives? Ranma Saotome ISN'T a girl!!"  
  
Nabiki was pulling her arm free as she pushed Kane-chan   
away, "Are you ready to ante up and get into the game,   
too?"  
  
Ranma-kun said, "I pass."  
  
Nabiki got up, "You do have more sense than I thought."   
The proud tactician saw that retreat was the only option   
left to her at the moment.   
  
As she passed Ranma-kun, he casually said, "I'm gonna   
wait until tomorrow at school. That'd be the best place   
to mess with your reputation."  
  
A growl got stuck in Nabiki's throat. She turned and left   
the room.  
  
But before she disappeared from sight, Ranma-kun called,   
"Nabiki!"  
  
Nabiki didn't answer. She knew what was coming.  
  
Splash!  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
The pigtailed guy set the empty pitcher back down on the   
table and started eating, "I might get to like this idea   
of getting revenge."  
  
Kane-chan started eating to, smiling between bites, "And   
we're not breaking the Code. Well, at least not the   
letter." Its spirit...well, that was another matter.   
  
Kasumi went to mop up the water with the extra towel   
she'd brought. The woman in the apron sighed sadly, "It   
will only cause more trouble." She knew her sister   
Nabiki. But she sounded as if she was resigning herself   
to whatever happened next, "But if this is the will of   
Karma."   
  
Her father asked, "What did you say, Kasumi?" he was   
distracted by the beauty of Akane. Even in her do-gi she   
seemed like a work of art, well worth any price he had to   
pay to have it in his home. As far as he was concerned   
she was the double of his dear, departed wife Kimiko.   
  
The panda paused in it eating, [She said Akane and Nabiki   
as a couple has her blessing.]  
  
Kane-chan told it, "No she didn't! Kasumi's just going to   
tolerate it for a while." At least until the time Kasumi   
could see if Nabiki really did need her intervention. It   
would be all Karma for a while.  
  
On her knees, Kasumi paused in her task; she was talking   
more to hear herself think than anybody else, "Nabiki   
hasn't gone on many dates with boys, has she?"  
  
Kane-chan reminded her, "Kuno was the last one. And she   
only did that because he's rich."  
  
Kasumi bent back to her chore again, "And she doesn't act   
very ladylike."  
  
Ranma-kun said, "She doesn't act much like a girl at   
all." Of course, his stereotypical definition of what a   
girl should be like was more like that of Kasumi Tendou.  
  
Kane-chan continued down the tease track, "Nabiki is more   
like a guy than a girl. She just hasn't admitted to   
herself she likes girls, yet."  
  
Patriarch Soun Tendou, his arms crossed, nodded his head,   
solemnly, "Yes. I HAVE read in the paper about how   
difficult it is for a girl come to terms with preferences   
that deviate from the social norm." He continued on with   
his self-justification, "As her father, I am helping her   
come to terms with her perversion. No, wait, "perversion"   
is probably not the word I wanted to use." He was having   
trouble carrying any justification off, though. It would   
be easier when he could just ignore what he didn't want   
to see. He was very good at that.  
  
Since Kasumi had been brought to look at a problem she   
hadn't really contemplated before, she chose not to be   
fooled. Her pure heart pointed her in the correct   
direction, "Nabiki DOES need to be motivated to become   
the girl I know she can be." Of course, she thought the   
same thing about Akane.   
  
Kasumi rose. She'd made her decision. "While it is not my   
place to force others to adopt better manners, neither   
will I stop the forces that can." She smiled warmly at   
Kane-chan, "I am ever ready to teach the marital and   
other womanly arts."  
  
A lump of food remained in Kane-chan's mouth. The   
implication was not lost on her.  
  
Suddenly Ranma-kun shivered, "Brr! Close the garden door!   
I just felt a cold chill go through me."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
With the two fathers watching on, it had quickly gone   
beyond a simple sparring match. In the ten minutes or so   
they'd been in the dojo, Ranma-chan had barely taken two   
steps before she was in the air again. With her having   
the higher ground, as it were, it was hard for the   
wildhaired Kane-chan to take effective evasive action.   
  
It'd been Kane-chan's tactic to stay away from the little   
dynamo as much as she could, using a lot of bobbing,   
weaving, ducking and tumbling. But just as that first day   
Ranma-chan arrived, the redhead was able to anticipate   
her movements almost before Kane-chan had made them. The   
result was that Ranma-chan's hands and feet were getting   
closer and closer to Kane-chan.   
  
It was when she felt the Ranma-chan's thumbnail barely   
graze her cheek that Kane-chan knew she had to change her   
tactics. If Ranma ever gets the idea that it's okay to   
hit me.... "Hey! This is sparring!"  
  
The pigtailed girl smiled sweetly, "I guess I over   
compensated for the short reach." She wiped her sweat   
with the back of her small hand; "I will say it's easier   
to jump with the lighter body and better thigh muscles.   
Just not as fun. Not with boobs."  
  
Her pop told her, "Now you see why I wanted you to get to   
know your body on our way back from China."   
  
The redhead glared at the Old Man, "NOW you're back to   
wantin' me to tryin' out the girl body?" Until now, he   
and Mr. Tendou had been staying pretty much quiet near   
the wall, acting like sensei assessing their students'   
progress.   
  
Mr. Tendou had begun crying again, "Oh, Miss Akane! You   
remind me so much of my dear wife Kimiko. How she loved a   
good fight." He then suddenly rose to his knees, "Protect   
yourself at all costs! Disguise your pattern: Use drunk-  
fu!"  
  
Irritated, too, Kane-chan cried, "She wasn't a drunk!!"  
  
Soun Tendou begged forgiveness, "I didn't mean to imply   
that you are, either! I was just advising you as your..."  
  
Genma wasn't about to be "out-sensei-ed" by his old   
comrade in adversity, "Ranma! A true martial artist must   
learn to turn a weakness into a strength. If your breasts   
are weighing you down, you must teach yourself how use   
them to buoy you up."  
  
Pow! Ranma-chan gave him a solid blow over the head,   
"What kinda mental image are you havin'!?"  
  
Soun was more concerned about the girl Akane than the   
Art, "Miss Akane, if you do not like the idea of drunk-  
fu, may I suggest the Quixote technique? It makes   
excellent use of the upper body, which," and a little   
bragging entered his voice, "as I hope you know, is the   
chief emphasis of the Tendou School."   
  
Before he could take her arms and demonstrate, Kane-chan   
fended him off by wildly flailing her arms about, "You   
want me to act like a demented windmill!?"  
  
Holding his head, Genma told Ranma, "See?! She knows more   
about how to keep her breasts out of the way."  
  
Ranma-chan was forced to study Kane-chan's movements for   
some clue of how she did it. "Hnh! She isn't nearly as   
good at it as girls who are girl all the time." She   
refused to acknowledge the slight heat she felt across   
her cheeks.   
  
Soun Tendou on the other hand gave no indication he   
harbored such feelings, even for somebody who reminded   
him so strongly of his dear wife. "Excellent, Miss Akane!   
But a truly demented windmill would change the pitch and   
yaw of her vane defense."  
  
Kane-chan stopped her vain defense, and actually cocked   
her fist back. 'Miss Akane' was sorely tempted to get the   
kind of satisfaction Ranma had just gotten from hitting   
his dad.  
  
Instead she turned to head to, "Ranma? Remember what you   
were saying about having to put up with family?"  
  
The little redhead nodded, "Yeah. It's stronger than the   
Code."  
  
Kane-chan said, "We got around that today, too."  
  
It took only a moment for Ranma-chan to understand.   
"Okay, now let's get all we can out of this match!" And   
she charged Kane-chan as she charged her.   
  
They met each other with the same judo hold to their   
upper gi-coats. Each swung the other around--And threw   
the other girl at the other's father with all of their   
force:   
  
POW! POW!  
  
Both of the grown men fell limp and unconscious to the   
polished floor.   
  
Still on her feet, Kane-chan looked over a few meters   
away at her, at last quiet, father. She asked Ranma-chan,   
"Well?"  
  
Ranma-chan had been doing the same with her own pop. "I   
have better reasons to take out my problems on the guy   
who gave them to me."  
  
Kane-chan nodded, "Yes, I'm afraid this isn't the answer,   
either." She gestured over to her, "Come on, let's take a   
shower."  
  
Ranma-chan headed for the dojo door, "Is it safe?" She   
was only half serious.  
  
Kane-chan was also half serious, "No, not if I become a   
guy again." She followed after the petit redhead.  
  
Ranma-chan said, "Then I'll become a guy."  
  
Kane-chan said, "Then you'll be safe."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Out in the upstairs hall, Nabiki nodded, "Yes, Kasumi. I   
understand."  
  
The girl in her pajamas then entered her room. She had to   
think to keep herself from slamming the door.  
  
Nabiki swore, "Just you wait... If I have to act like the   
"proper, young girl", I'm not going alone. And it all   
truly begins tomorrow at the "birth-day party"!"  
  
  
  
The End of this chapter  
[You don't think Soun would do that to one of his   
daughters? The original tried to encourage Ranma to make   
Akane pregnant so she would have to marry him. It's only   
his view of lesbianism that is challenged.]   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
c 


	20. 20: Concepts Unleashed

Ranma & Kaneda  
By Ron Dow75  
  
20: Concepts Unleashed   
As much as he tried to not let it bother him, it still   
rubbed at him. Last night Kaneda, had had to play keepaway   
from an opponent. The better martial artist the heir to the   
Tendou Dojo faced had been his own fiancee.  
  
It was clear with only a slight chill this morning. The   
longhaired redhead jogged in his running shoes, blue shorts   
and yellow, short sleeve sweatshirt, with a short towel   
around his neck. His muscles could be seen as they moved,   
even in his arms. Especially those of his arms. While the   
"Anything" of "Anything-Goes Martial Arts" required the   
ability to use any muscle group, the Tendou School put the   
emphasis on those of the upper body.   
  
The Saotome School put the emphasis on those of the lower   
body.   
  
Slowing down, Kaneda resorted to his usual method of   
letting off steam, but this time he used an imaginary   
cinderblock. He threw it up with one hand and smashed it to   
pieces with the other as it came down.   
  
He stopped to look down at the where they could've landed   
on the street in front of his home. Why HAVEN'T I done   
anything like that before? I've blamed Dad for not training   
me properly. He didn't find any satisfaction in helping   
Ranma-chan knock out his dad last night. And sleeping on it   
hadn't helped at all. ...If I really WAS serious about   
being a true master, I would've worked to develop the   
skills I DO have. He turned away in total dissatisfaction,   
My techniques have just been stunts, nothing serious. He   
may've been exaggerating, but like exaggerations, there was   
a truth in it.   
  
As he headed for his front gate, he glanced up at its   
fortress-like wall he knew Ranma-chan could leap over.   
There would only be one way he could learn to jump it.   
"...Then I would be admitting whose was the better   
school...and who was going to be the Master of the Dojo."   
At that painful thought, he dug his strong, fingers into   
the texture of the wall.   
  
"Tendou Upper Body Whip Crack!!"  
  
In that one thrust, Kaneda pulled himself up the wall like   
a rock climber. When his knees were at the height of his   
hands, he dug his shoe's toes in and grabbed for the terra   
cotta tiles of the wall's roof.  
  
He hung there as he refocused his efforts. There were   
dozens of minor but important muscle readjustments he   
needed to make. He could make them all at once with the   
right concept. Then his Chi energy would flow through the   
proper channels and charge his body. And yelling out the   
concept increased the definiteness of that power.  
  
"Tendou Tarzan Ascend!!"  
  
As quickly as a jolt, Kaneda cleared the eave and landed   
crouching on to top of the wall's roof. It surprised him at   
just how right the silly concept WAS.   
  
Until he realized humans WERE ape-men; upper-body strength   
WAS their natural forte.   
  
Not lower-body strength.  
  
He rose and surveyed his domain, that which was his to   
inherit: The Tendou compound.   
  
He saw what was becoming a familiar scene: "I'm not going   
to go easy on you, Ranma!" Mr. Saotome yelled from beside   
the koi pond.   
  
The pigtailed guy in just a tank shirt and boxers yelled,   
"You NEVER go easy on me! Every time I improve, you take it   
up a notch! Well, you're at the end of your belt, now, you   
Fat Old Man!"  
  
"I'll show you just how fat I am!"   
  
Ranma was the first to leap. Splash!  
  
"Nnnyyaaarrh!!" a very wet Nabiki cried from the garden   
hall. The wave of cold pond water had shot straight for   
teen in green pajamas. She dropped her camera.   
  
The pigtailed girl in the wet underwear gloated, "Got her!"  
  
Genma asked, "You jumped in just to do that!?!"  
  
Ranma-chan cried, "And this!" shoving against his shins.   
She leaped out of the pond as he was falling in. Using her   
speed on her distracted "sensei", she untied his black   
belt.  
  
By the time the giant panda was able to stand up in the   
shallow water, the redhead was tying the belt around the   
white coat she'd taken off of the Old Man.   
  
"Berao, waorru!"   
  
She walked away from it, "Aw, it was only gonna disappear,   
anyway. You don't need clothes; you got fur, now."  
  
Suddenly her trained senses warned of something on her   
right coming towards her.  
  
Kaneda used a branch from the tree to catapult himself over   
the bushes that helped divide the front of the yard from   
the pond side. He landed on his hands and somersaulted,   
stopping decimeters from Ranma-chan.   
  
The girl was unimpressed, "What kind of stunt was that?"  
  
Kaneda said, proudly, "THAT was not a stunt: That was--"   
Suddenly his arms shook. The tremors traveled through his   
body, until he had to drop to his knees.   
  
The small girl said, "Uh, hunh. Not a stunt," and walked   
away.  
  
The redhaired guy wanted to make a fist, but could barely   
get his thumb up; "I just over-exerted myself, doing this   
after I'd just cross-trained for 10-k!"  
  
Picking up the towel she'd had left lying in the garden   
porch. "Will breakfast be ready, soon, Kasumi?"  
  
Struggling back to his feet, Kaneda his fingers were still   
bent from swinging in trees, "You know what it can be like   
when mastering a new technique: A lot of the leftover Chi   
doesn't find its way back--"  
  
The black-and-white beast bellowed as it charged. The   
Tendou boy was in its way. It didn't care. It bumped him.  
  
K-Prap!  
  
```  
  
Kaneda woke up at the feel of hot water. With an hourglass   
figure, now, she opened her eyes to see Ranma-chan's bare   
legs walking back to the house with the copper teakettle.   
  
Kane-chan sat up and saw the panda lying on the ground like   
a rug. The last thing she remembered was the Chi-equivalent   
of a large static shock leave her guy-body. He had no idea   
how. But he wasn't going to let it circle around in his   
thoughts.  
  
Getting up, Kane-chan asked, "Why did you make me a girl?"  
  
Ranma-chan answered, "Why not? If I'm gonna be a girl, you   
might as well be one too."  
  
She looked at the cold water of the pond. But decided to   
follow her cute fiancee back into the family room, "You're   
staying a girl?"  
  
Setting the kettle down, Ranma said, "I'm going to go to   
school like this, too." She looked down at the wet tank   
shirt and oversized gi-coat, "I am gonna wear something   
else."  
  
Kane-chan hoped, "A school uniform?"  
  
Ranma-chan plopped down at the table, "Get real. I guess   
I'm gonna wear those Chinese clothes your doctor gave me."  
  
Kane-chan sat where she could get a good view of Ranma-  
chan's boobs under her plastered down shirt that the   
overlarge gi-coat couldn't hide very well; "Maybe I   
shouldn't question a wish coming true, but why are you   
staying a girl?"  
  
Nabiki could be heard before she could be seen, "Ranma!"   
She entered the family room in her school uniform. She was   
very wet. "How did you get smart enough to rig a bucket of   
water to spill on me when I opened the lav door!?!"  
  
Showing no glee or regret, Ranma-chan said casually, "Pop   
did things like that to me lots of times. His little booby   
traps helped sharpen my awareness and senses."  
  
Getting her voice more back under control, Nabiki said, "I   
can make booby traps that he could not possibly even   
conceive of."  
  
Kane-chan said, "Ouch."   
  
Nabiki turned her cold glare at blackhaired girl, "Do you   
WANT me to make the term "booby trap" literal?"  
  
Kane-chan had to hesitate, "Er... It might be less painful   
if you did." She knew her sister prided herself on her   
creating situations.   
  
Some of Nabiki's aplomb returned, "You've got that right."  
  
From the garden hall, her father said, "Ha, ha! Don't let   
my daughter Nabiki's words mislead you, Miss Akane. She   
really has a warm and gentle heart."  
  
Kane-chan looked at the father figure with the toothbrush.   
She had to ask, "Just how well do you know people?"  
  
Soun Tendou said in his most charming fashion, "Before I   
took on the responsibilities of a single parent, I traveled   
all over, meeting every sort of person." He got a bit   
nostalgic, "Why I've even been off the islands of Japan.   
I've been to Hawaii. That's in America, you know."  
  
Ranma asked, "You didn't swim there, did you?" For someone   
who'd swam to China, even she found that difficult to   
believe.  
  
Soun chuckled, "I didn't have to. I had a tsunami wave."  
  
Nabiki said, "Now, you want to reminisce! Daddy, I know you   
want to impress a certain some one, but right now--"  
  
Kane-chan was curious. It wasn't too often he would tell   
them anything about himself. "How did you get back, a   
reverse-tsunami?"  
  
Soun Tendou smiled down at the charming Miss Akane, "My   
word, no. I used a geyser."  
  
Kane-chan suddenly thought of something, "You got home   
using a geyser?! Is, isn't a geyser like a spring?"  
  
Soun was still smiling, his battle to be a gentleman   
temporarily lost as he stared at Kane-chan's bare legs,   
"VERY hot springs."  
  
Kane-chan tried to add something up, "I know about the   
Curse of Pelee. Doesn't that mean there could be other   
curses in Hawaii?"  
  
Ranma-chan asked, "Are you sayin' your dad might've been   
cursed, too?" She studied the mustached man. "That would   
explain things."  
  
Kane-chan said, "Well, magic does attract magic."  
  
Nabiki said, "A good reason not to believe in it. The best   
remedy against magic is not to accept it in the first   
place. Let it happen to those with weak minds."  
  
Ranma-chan cried, "Who're sayin' has a weak mind!?!"  
  
Kasumi had come in with a breakfast tray, and heard enough   
to ask, "A cursed spring? But there are no dragons in   
Hawaii, are there?"  
  
Her father's eye twinkled, "The only one I know of was the   
dragon kite I rode over the Pacific on." Miss Akane had   
very nice legs.  
  
Kane-chan asked Kasumi, "What's this about dragons?"  
  
Kasumi greeted, "Hello, Mr. Saotome. Breakfast is ready."  
  
Ranma-chan frowned at it, "You play bear rug until it's   
time to eat. I thought you wanted to fight? Ha-nh! You   
couldn't even beat a guy who was ready to drop from   
fatigue."  
  
Kane-chan asked, "Is that what happened?" Her mind divided   
between dragons, what had happened outside, breakfast and   
the back-and-forth of everybody but Kasumi, she didn't find   
the answer to any of the questions.  
  
```  
  
After changing to a dry school uniform, Nabiki hurried to   
leave.  
  
But the closed front gate was stuck. Even when she used   
both hands, it still wouldn't open. There was something   
small on the other side that was preventing it from   
opening. "Ranma!" she concluded.  
  
She refused to give Ranma the satisfaction of showing any   
frustration. Assuming that was what Saotome wanted to see,   
and so wouldn't take the side gate, she waited as calmly as   
she could. She sought to keep her Chi-void from collapsing.   
If the martial artist got emotional enough, SHE would be   
ready to turn it back on the baka. And the more emotional   
she could make the pigtailed one, the harder would be the   
fall.  
  
Finally the heavy gate opened behind her. Ranma-chan was on   
the other side. The pigtailed girl in the black, silk   
Chinese shirt and pants was flipping and catching a shim.   
There was a proverb in there about how a small wedge of   
wood could stop a huge door from opening.  
  
Nabiki was in no mood for trite analogies. The only thing   
she wanted to hear was how Ranma had turned the tables on   
her. SAOTOME was more the sap type. ...And Ranma would be   
again, she vowed.  
  
Ranma-chan asked, "Ready to go to school?"  
  
He chin tilted up, Nabiki began her trip to school.  
  
"Tendou Tarzan Ascend!"  
  
A moment later, Kaneda dropped from over the compound wall   
to the street ahead of them. In his school uniform, he   
landed on his hands and swung up to his feet in NEARLY one   
motion. He did need practice.   
  
Ranma-chan passed him, "That's so uncute. Why can't you at   
least TRY to act less like a guy."  
  
Exasperated, Kaneda pointed to the wall, "I just did what   
YOU can do: But without using my legs!"  
  
Ranma-chan said, "Big whoop. What if the wall had been   
ancient, unstable, booby trapped, or electrified."  
  
Kaneda caught up to her and Nabiki, "But it wasn't!"  
  
Nabiki told them, "Why do you both of you simpletons have   
the need to exert yourselves, anyway? If the wall had been   
any of those things, it would've been for strategic   
reasons. Understand those and the resources available, and   
you can figure out a less strenuous way in or out of   
things."  
  
Ranma-chan scoffed, "Like how you got the gate open?"  
  
Nabiki said coolly, "You opened it for me, didn't you?"  
  
Ranma-chan scoffed, "Like you had it planned."  
  
Nabiki said coolly, "I figured it out. ...As I will figure   
you out...again." It had probably started when Ranma-chan   
was caught naked in the guys' lav and then got stuck among   
the girls in the girls' locker room...  
  
Kaneda broke in with, "I got over the wall! The Tendou   
School can match the Saotome School!"  
  
Ranma-chan jumped on top of the nearest privacy wall; "A   
stunt doesn't prove anything."  
  
Scowling at her stunt, Kaneda started to wonder how he   
could walk walls using just his Tendou skills.  
  
```  
  
Anything Kaneda said he may have said to the walls along   
their way. Neither Ranma-chan nor Nabiki were paying him   
much attention. They were both focused on the school day   
ahead.  
  
For once it looked like the he and Ranma-chan were going to   
make it to class early. The big school clock said "8:20".   
That was part of the reason there were a number of students   
around the front gate. But among them were several diehards   
from Kaneda's previous mornings' battle.  
  
Kaneda prepared himself for another.  
  
Behind him: Ranma-chan pounced, "Nabiki-chan!"  
  
Nabiki had seen this coming since last night. She used her   
aikido skills to anticipate and avoid the little redhead   
WITHOUT touching her. It was done with the minimum of   
motion and seeming effort. Inside, though, she was   
struggling to draw in Ranma's Chi. But Ranma was using her   
emotions in a way Nabiki wasn't used to. The Chi was put   
more into propelling than attacking.   
  
Ranma-chan landed and in one fluid motion tried again.   
  
Nabiki took a couple of steps, and bowed her head just   
enough for Ranma-chan to whiz past. But Ranma-chan   
ricocheted off the wall and back at her. With relief,   
Nabiki became a matador, pivoting out of the way on one   
foot.  
  
Ranma-chan landed against the distracted Kaneda. Kaneda   
automatically moved to cushion the impact and keep his   
fiancee from falling. That meant he fell with her on top of   
him.  
  
Ranma-chan cried, "Thanks for the help!"  
  
Kaneda told her, "You jumped me!"  
  
Nabiki looked down at the petit girl still in the arms of   
her brother; "I left my pants at home. I thought you didn't   
go after those who wear skirts." Literally, it was true.   
Ranma swore not to fight girls.   
  
Ranma's emotions shifted, "What!!?" Nabiki got her!  
  
Nabiki straightened herself up, "Is THAT why you want to   
marry into the Tendous? Ranma! I'm supposed to be your   
'SISTER-in-law' We Tendou girls don't swing that way." She   
started to walk away, "I guess you're going to have to be   
satisfied with just my LITTLE brother."   
  
Her back to Ranma-chan now, she gave the guys who were   
witnessing all of this a knowing look. She said in a voice   
for them, "...As if Kaneda alone could satisfy a person   
with a girl's BODY and a guy's mind."  
  
"Whoa! I didn't think of that."/ "Does that mean she,   
like, has to have, one of each?"/ "Maybe that's why she's   
engaged to Kaneda."/ "HA! That's why he needs to beat   
guys up!"/ "--Why he's so angry!"/ "Right! He's trying   
to prove he's NOT half-a-man!"   
  
As she passed through the group of mainly guys, Nabiki   
helped the sale along, "It has become a contest to see who   
will be wear the apron."  
  
Ranma struggled to get up from Kaneda, "Let me at her!"  
  
Kaneda held her back. He wasn't going to let her get away   
with it now that her Karma was unprotected, "Why not tell   
them who you're engaged to!" Of course, if she told them   
ALL of the truth, he'd be seen as a far greater pervert   
than Ranma.  
  
Nabiki didn't even slow down as she approached Furinkan's   
main doors; "I don't take that seriously. Do you?"  
  
```  
  
First Vice President and Secretary Tsugako was waiting on   
the front stoop for her as Nabiki had told her to in a call   
last night. She asked, "What was that about?"  
  
Nabiki told her, "Merchandising. Did you get those photos I   
gave you copied?"  
  
Tsugako showed her the filing folder under her arm.   
"They're pictures of Ranma only half-dressed." She lowered   
voice, questioning the wisdom of her President, "They're   
almost pornographic!"  
  
Nabiki said, "And they'll stay soft until demand falls   
off."  
  
Tsugako asked, "What demand?"  
  
Nabiki looked out to the guys waiting around the gate and   
the engaged pair who was just approaching it; "The demand   
for a real-life fantasy that's short in supply."  
  
```  
  
Ranma-chan and Kaneda would find that the emphasis was on   
"real-life". What may be unthinkable in isolation can   
burrow into a psyche when there is an actual example that   
can be seen, heard, smelled, and, perhaps...touched?  
  
The first to speak up were those who still had something to   
prove: "Ha, ha! Kaneda! How'd you get so 'luc-key'?"/ "I   
can't believe we hadn't thought WHY she would stick with   
you!"/ "I bet she can beat your sorry ass!"  
  
Kaneda's reactions were never as cool and calm as Nabiki's,   
"If she could, what does that say about YOU! There hasn't   
been a day this semester I haven't beat yours and twenty   
others!"   
  
"Ranma, how much of a girl are you?"/ "You look like you   
have everything...."/ "...perfect...."/ "You definitely   
have female hormones."/ "But you think like, a guy?"/   
"She dresses like a guy."/ "Is it possible that, that,   
uh, er, both ways, I mean, threesomes, I mean--"/ "Oh,   
ho, ho! There's something I've dreamed about...."/ "But   
have you thought about doing it with somebody who's both?"  
  
Ranma-chan's reactions were somewhere in-between the two   
Tendous, "Leave me alone! I ain't interested in anybody,   
girl and ESPECIALLY guy!"  
  
People ahead of them started moving aside for an all too   
familiar voice, "She is trying to tell you, you spawn of   
the bourgeois media, that as with any true warrior, she is   
celebrate. One must be pure of heart to wield power   
properly." Kuno was in his usual kendo-gi, holding his   
usual wooden sword. The only thing different were the   
bandages that he was still wrapped in.  
  
"But Nabiki said--"   
  
The still recovering Kuno held up his bokken in challenge   
to the pigtailed girl, "But purity is but purified more   
intensely when mixed with its own kind. Two becoming one   
bring forth more than just what either alone can do."  
  
"I'd go with Nabiki this time. I bet Ranma can't stay   
'pure' any more than Kuno can."/ "Care to start a pool of   
how long she can last?"/ "And cut into Nabiki's   
territory!?"  
  
Ranma-chan grabbed the dim wit's only weapon with both   
hands, "Thanks for giving them explanations!!"  
  
Behind her, Kaneda pleaded, "Ranma!!"  
  
Growling, Ranma-chan planted her small feet and used her   
superior lower body muscles to heave the 185.5 cm/6' 1"   
teen off the ground, and toss him behind her.  
  
...where Kaneda punched the samurai boy into his   
tormentors, toppling them all.  
  
With his breath nearly knocked out of him, the rugby player   
tried to threaten, "Pervert!...Both, perverts...."  
  
"They are perverts, aren't they?"  
  
"I wouldn't say it to their faces."/ "And as a martial   
arts fan, I'd also say not within rage of their martial   
arts senses."/ "Uh...how safe a distance is safe?"  
  
```  
  
Looking out a window above in Classroom 2-F, Nabiki smiled   
to herself, "That suppresses the negative backlash for a   
while. And what fills a vacuum?...."   
  
Tsugako looked to Nabiki. "If she really doesn't get   
around, I can see where the, uh, "supply" will be limited.   
There's not going to be too many who are going to risk even   
asking Ranma for a date, let alone trying for first base.   
But are you sure about the demand?"  
  
Second Vice President and Treasurer Ichie said, "Yeah,   
Nabiki, don't guys have better things to think about than a   
super tomboy?"  
  
Nabiki said to them, "It's all about contrasts. To them,   
she's already a tomboy that flashes, and, now, maybe does   
more."  
  
Ichie said, "So she's a tease!"  
  
Tsugako said, "And she's not even good at it. She's no   
competition."  
  
Ichie saw a glimmer of the truth, " "Contrast"?"  
  
Followed by her company, Nabiki headed towards her desk,   
"Exactly. There is too much competition: Among ourselves.   
But no one (right now, anyway *Chuckle*) is competing with   
her. But Ranma's a natural at getting attention, beyond her   
petit attractiveness. She's the speeding red dot on a   
mountain of black. That is the first step in demand.   
  
"And after that, everything depends on her entertainment   
value, where the potential customer WANTS to keep their   
attention on her."  
  
Ichie said, "You mean "Sex and Violence"?..."  
  
Tsugako said sourly, "In Ranma's case, "Cuteness and   
Mayhem"."  
  
Nabiki addressed her followers, "There is no real contrast   
there. That's on the TV that comes into our houses.   
Entertainment relies on something being different among the   
familiar or attractive."   
  
Ichie said, "Contrast!"  
  
Nabiki sat down at her desk-seat as if it were her throne.   
"Ranma has something very different about her." She smiled,   
"She has a strangeness factor that can become exotic that   
can become erotic. It is all in niche-marketing." She had   
started thinking about this plan back when Kaneda had   
started getting boobs. But Kaneda WAS family. Ranma wasn't.   
  
Tsugako shook her head, "And giving out free pictures of   
Ranma taking off her shirt supplies a niche?"  
  
Nabiki chuckled, "There is nothing really that strange   
about a girl taking off even a guy's undershirt. What will   
make it strange is the "Before and After" contrast.  
  
"And even though guys can't see past a girl's looks, I   
think it will be more profitable if Ranma's female assets   
are etched in their little minds BEFORE they see the, uh,   
'After'."  
  
Ichie thought she understood, "You get them nibbling before   
they're introduced to the hook."  
  
```   
  
Kaneda's new interest in Tarzan had him looking at the   
trees that separated the main buildings from the playing   
fields of the school. "Do you want to have a contest,   
Ranma? A race through the trees to see who can get to   
Lovers' Wood first."  
  
Ranma-chan didn't even look at him. "I'm not interested in   
you proving your so-called manhood. I have you around to   
remind me what will happen if I forget what sex I am."  
  
Kaneda challenged, "This is about schools!"  
  
Ranma-chan said, "If you say so."  
  
Kaneda wanted to say something loud, long and punctuated   
with martial arts. But his school wasn't at Ranma's level,   
yet. The only way he could inflict a little hard was by   
using the girl-ploy--and only on the Ranma-kun. Of course,   
if his girl-form 'demonstrated' on Ranma-kun it would PROVE   
it wasn't about his manhood.   
  
Right?... As he looked back towards the trees, he saw that   
there were holes bored in a lot of them, three to a tree.   
Pausing to glance through a few of them, he saw direct line   
of sight views of the school buildings and the playing   
fields. "Whoever Miss Hinako hired got the job done in   
record time."  
  
Ranma-chan said, "She had to have hired a whole   
construction company." The tree house 2.5 meters/8' off the   
ground had the general shape of a large forest ranger   
station, with a chicken wire with circular holes in its   
mesh. It even had three sliding skylights over holes in its   
three-sided roof. But Ranma and Kaneda, not understanding   
how the technique they yearned to learn from the age-  
changing Miss Hinako worked, paid more attention to the   
paint job. They had been afraid she would paint her   
principal's office with bright garish, kiddy-pleasing   
colors. Nabiki had done her best to convince the new   
acting-principal that since she was now in charge of an   
institution of high education, it needed to be in the same   
colors as the institutions she was familiar with.   
  
Ranma-chan stared at it. "Well, she did choose gray."  
  
Kaneda stared, too. "And black. --Is that Astro Boy?" The   
tree house office was covered with black-and-white anime   
characters from the '60's. Just how old was Miss Hinako   
really?   
  
```  
  
Inside the plush characters were more colorful, but there   
were fewer of them. There was a TV-VCR to watch them on,   
and a Playstation. There was a small assortment of coloring   
books, toys and games, but they off in a neatly ordered,   
unused corner of what otherwise looked pretty much as a   
principal's office should look like.  
  
When they came up through the open doorway in the floor,   
they found that Miss Hinako was no little girl. Her tall,   
shapely and buxom form was in a rather bulky, yellow   
crochet sweater and a black skirt with a hem a couple of   
centimeters above the knee. "Miss Ranma," she greeted her   
as a student. She then said, "And this must be Mr. Kaneda   
Tendou. Miss Saotome is your houseguest, I believe." When   
they'd nodded their heads in a bow, she gestured them   
towards her desk.   
  
Kaneda followed, "The reason we're always late won't happen   
tomorrow. Probably. --There were fewer guys waiting for us.   
There should be fewer still tomorrow. ...Right?"  
  
The adult kept her eye on him as she sat on the edge of the   
desk, one fine leg bent. "You two aren't here for that   
reason. As part of the agreement I made with the teachers   
to recognize me as the acting-principal, I am to let them   
decide when a low-Chi conflict goes beyond what they term   
"a sporting challenge".   
  
"Sports are the main reason for this school's existence,   
apparently. That makes Furinkan something of a vocational   
high school."  
  
Kaneda said to the woman who was keeping her eyes on him,   
"And you heard I was the best athlete in the school."  
  
Miss Hinako was pleased, "You are?"   
  
Ranma-chan said, "I'm the reason you called us here."  
  
The woman finally turned her attention to the girl, "Yes,   
Miss Ranma. One of the concessions the teachers gave ME was   
that there would be more emphasis on girls' sports."  
  
Ranma-chan said, "I am not a team player."  
  
Miss Hinako said, "There are non-team sports."  
  
Ranma-chan said, "I can't change with girls."  
  
Miss Hinako raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Do you have a   
condition? A deformity?" Ranma-chan didn't like the way she   
was checking for them.  
  
Ranma-chan tried again, "It'd be like cheatin'. I'm   
different from, most girls." All, if you excluded the ones   
who must've been cursed over the centuries.  
  
The Principal stood up, "I sensed that yesterday. Your Chi   
is the most masculine I've felt in a female. It is very   
polar." And this from a reform school teacher.  
  
Kaneda picked up his ears, "Oh? So she's mostly a girl,   
right?"  
  
Miss Hinako said to him, "And yours is definitely the most   
feminine I've felt in a male. Again, with practically no   
blending of the two."  
  
Kaneda blushed.   
  
Ranma, "That proves it for me."  
  
The Principal went around her desk, "Though you are not   
related, you both have a similar...let us say "Yin-Yang   
Flux"." Both of the teens waited tensely for the truth to   
be spoken. "But, then, you both practice "Anything-Goes   
Martial Arts."  
  
The teens facefaulted.  
  
"The same as me."  
  
From the floor the said in surprise, "You!?!"  
  
She leaned over the desk; "My variation of the "Anything-  
Goes School" left me with, an age problem." There was a   
brief flash of resentment. "Yours has given you...another   
problem. I would like to help you, if I can."  
  
Ranma was the first to jump up, "You think you can!?!" Was   
there hope?!  
  
Standing straight again, Miss Hinako said, "I think I may   
be able to help. But it can only be performed while you are   
doing sports, Miss Ranma. That is why you have to   
participate."  
  
Ranma grinned to break her cute face, "You got it! I'll   
give just about anything a try!"  
  
Pleased, the trained reform school teacher said, "Let's be   
positive!" It felt good to be able to encourage rather than   
punish. The correctional officers and the students only   
took her seriously when she used her powers. Furinkan was   
her chance to prove she could do more. And Ranma Saotome   
was her test case.  
  
Kaneda hesitated. "And, and me? Is, is that why you, wanted   
me here, too?"  
  
Feeling good for once without any childish (or a couple of   
more adult) diversions, Miss Hinako said to him, "If my   
idea works for Miss Ranma, it will point the way for you,   
Mr. Kaneda. But it will require more thought, I'm afraid. I   
will let you know when I have thought of the missing piece   
to the puzzle. But I promise to do it in private.   
  
"But in the meantime, I wanted to meet Miss Ranma's   
support, her...finace(?)"  
  
Her smiled grew slightly wider; "You remind me of Miss   
Akane Saotome, Ranma's cousin."  
  
Though Kaneda didn't understand yet, Miss Hinako's Chi   
power hadn't had much direct contact with Kaneda's girl-  
form; the readings she had of her was swamped out by   
Ranma's, her focus at the time. And now, through the holes   
in the trees, she was feeding on the Chi of the whole   
school. Though it kept her an adult, it took effort to   
distinguish between individuals. Right then, she was in   
near her optimum capacity. The former little girl with the   
short attention span so far wasn't aware yet of the effect   
Chi has on living trees.   
  
Of course, even trees have their limits.  
  
```  
  
On their way back to the classroom, Kaneda wondered, "If   
she knows our secret, why did she say I reminded her of   
Akane?"  
  
Ranma was just too happy at the thought of a cure, "So? She   
knows our secret, not the names we call our other forms."  
  
Kaneda still fretted, "Should we tell her?"  
  
Ranma said, "A secret's a secret until there's no need for   
reason for it."  
  
Kaneda said, "I guess you're right. I can hide out from her   
making me a girl by being Akane Saotome."   
  
Ranma said, "Me, I was gettin' sick of hidin'. I was about   
ready to show everybody I AM a guy."  
  
Kaneda thought for long moments. "Ranma. Are you sure you   
don't want to be a girl?"  
  
Ranma laughed humorlessly, "What do you think!?"  
  
```  
  
Kaneda thought of something else, "She says she belongs to   
the "Anything-Goes School". How many have YOU heard say   
that?"  
  
Ranma-chan said, "Don't worry about it. If you have to, ask   
the Two Fathers about it."  
  
Kaneda muttered, "If Dad will talk about it."  
  
When they opened their classroom door: Bang! Pop, pop, pop!   
Whiz--Bang!  
  
Kaneda grabbed the back of Ranma-chan's collar and shirt   
back to keep her from using her martial arts.   
  
The National Anthem of the United States of America started   
playing, then sung in English: "O say can you see by the   
dawn's early light, What so proudly we hail'd, Whose broad   
stripes and bright stars, Thro' the perilous fight, O'er   
the ramparts we watched, Were gallantly streaming? And the   
rocket's red glare, The bombs bursting in air..."  
  
Bang! Pop, pop, pop! Whiz--Bang!  
  
Kaneda directed Ranma-chan as inconspicuously as they could   
to their seats, while the smaller redhead stared at their   
homeroom teacher. She had thought he was a fairly fit man   
in his thirties who was as dull as most teachers. Kaneda   
told her quietly, "Mr. Egami earned his tuition working as   
a magician in a theme park. He almost quit the idea of   
teaching to go into special effects."  
  
With a flag waving scene from an American production on the   
chalkboard behind the man, Ranma-chan had to ask, "Why   
didn't he?"  
  
Kaneda sat her down in her desk-seat; "He says computers   
have taken the wonder-factor out of it."  
  
The fireworks and lightshow over, Mr. Egami said, "Now, as   
a further reward for finishing your homework tasks on the   
Napoleonic Wars, I give you the "Anvil Chorus" of "The 1812   
Overture".  
  
The scenes on the chalkboard were now ones of Tchaikovsky,   
and then an orchestra maestro leading a dirty, bloody   
battle of Europeans dressed up like their nutcrackers. And   
over the music were the clang of anvils and the boom of   
canons! It was a true spectacular production.  
  
...And when the lights came on, it seemed the whole class   
was glancing, staring, or glaring at Ranma-chan from all   
sides.   
  
```  
  
This class over with, Mr. Egami went to packing up his   
equipment to move to them to his next class with the help   
of the "Big Production" Club.   
  
Meanwhile: "Well, we now know they're real."/ "You don't   
think they were...doctored?"/ "What, the pictures or her   
boobs?"/ "Either."/ "Who cares. I'd just like to 're-  
touch' her."/ "Who's that old guy spraying milk?"/ "Her   
old man?"/ "That's Kaneda's dad."/ "No bull, Hiroshi!?"/   
"Hiroshi, Daisuke, you're Kaneda's best friends. If the   
chick flashes at his house, maybe--"/ "Hey, didn't she   
flash yesterday, at the gate?"/ "Didn't you hear what she   
did in the guys' lav?!!"...  
  
While among the girls: "Flashing in the guys' lav!? She IS   
an exhibitionist."?/ "Hmf! Like she needs to do that with   
a body like that."/ "I say she has been to a doctor."/   
"I'm jealous, too."/ Hasn't she heard of a bra?"/ "I   
hear she wears guys' underwear."/ "Used?"/ "Stained.   
She likes to play with danger."/ "If she wears some guy's   
clothes, it she isn't Kaneda Tendou's."/ "That pervert's   
so desperate, he's whipped."/ "Get with the program,   
Ainoko: Ranma's USING Kaneda."/ "Oh, right. The poor   
jerk."...  
  
It didn't take Ranma's sensitive ears to hear what was   
being said. She burned.  
  
Yuka stood by Ranma-chan's side, "It's not Ranma's fault.   
Her problems come because her daddy is a girl-hater." And   
she put a hand on the girl in Chinese clothes, "You've   
never had the chance to be a girl, have you?"  
  
Ranma-chan said, "I never WANTED the chance!"  
  
Yuka said to the other girls, "See how bad it is?"  
  
Daisuke was on the petit redhead's other side, "Ranma, you   
can be one of the guys with us."  
  
The tall, tough girl No stepped up in front of Ranma-chan,   
"And you're guy enough?! If Ranma's going to hang out with   
anybody, it's going to be with the girls!"  
  
"Why do we want to be around a girl who looks at us like a   
guy does!?"  
  
Na slammed an open palm down on a desk. "Because I remember   
you girls saying the something like that about me!"  
  
"So THAT'S why you want Ranma near you."/ "I hear Ranma   
swivels both ways."/ "Yes, she likes girls who act like   
guys."/ "And guys who act like girls, I hear."  
  
Kaneda said, "--Wait a minute! Why does everybody look at   
me when they say things like that!? You've never known me   
to be a girl!! I'm as big a pervert as Hiroshi and Daisuke,   
remember?!!"  
  
There were some knowing nods.   
  
Sayuri said, "Stop! It's obvious that Ranma didn't pose for   
that picture! It's pure voyeurism!"  
  
"I love it when girls use words like that."  
  
Ranma-chan jumped up from between Yuka and Daisuke, onto   
her the back of her desk-seat, and behind to Sayuri. "What   
picture?!"  
  
Sayuri held out a hand, "Hiroshi!"  
  
Shamefacedly, looking to the other guys for understanding,   
he got out the wrinkled paper her had under his coat.   
Sayuri handed it to Ranma.  
  
Ranma-chan of course recognized it as one of those Kuno had   
had of her girl-form. "Nabiki."  
  
"Did you hear that, guys?!"/ "You just figure that out?"/   
"But if NABIKI Tendou is giving out FREE pictures!"/ "--  
They're samples!"  
  
"Did you hear that, girls?!"/ "I should've thought of   
that in the first place."/ "But if Nabiki Tendou is   
giving out pictures like this--"/ "Where will it end?!"  
  
Professional beauty contestant Yuumei Natsume said, "We've   
got to stop her before she hands out pictures of me--US!"  
  
Designated P.E. Equipment Manager Go-don Amori said, "We've   
got to see if she's got to protect Nabiki Tendou!"  
  
A squadron of guys and one of girls headed for the door.  
  
A plain girl was the last of the group. She hesitated at   
the door, uncertain about what she would do. Finally she   
said, "I want to be a kogal!" and left.  
  
The room now only had a dozen people in it. A stunned   
Kaneda asked. "Is this what uncontrolled Karma is like?"  
The End of this chapter 


	21. 21: The Cure, Essence of Competition

Ranma & Kaneda  
By Ron Dow75  
  
21: The Cure, Essence of Competition   
The stern Mr. Bozu looked at his pocket watch. The civics   
teacher in the sumo-like partially shaved head had gotten   
to Classroom 2-E early. Like so much of society, Furinkan   
had been infected with the liberal ways of the West. The   
former junior high morals teacher had chosen to focus his   
efforts first on this class because it had a true, noble   
samurai enrolled among the commoners. With Kuno-sama as   
their core, he would--  
  
The noise built, the building trembled, and as both   
increased it became clear the rabble were headed this way!   
  
Though out of his kendo uniform, Kuno lived up to Mr.   
Bozu's estimation of him as his student rose from his seat,   
"Hark! Do I hear the approach of unruly peasants!?!"   
  
If they were rebelling, Sensei Bozu would be ready to   
sacrifice himself in the cause with Lord Kuno! And he held   
up his book over his heart.  
  
"...Nabiki Tendou! Save me some pictures!"/ "You mean   
SAVE the pictures! When we girls get our hands on them..."/   
"Tendou, do you have them on CD?!"/ "Doesn't the internet   
have ENOUGH porn!?!"/ "Hey, I'll pay you next Tuesday!   
You KNOW I'm good for it!"/ "You're good for nothing!"/   
"Just get them to us! You can bill all the guys in 1-F!"/   
"Yeah, that's right! Bill them!"/ "What?? You're not with   
our class!"/ "Hey, when there's a commotion, the Civil   
Disobedience Club is there!"  
  
When they got to the classroom door, nobody was able to get   
in first. The guys and girls in the lead jammed themselves   
at the doorway: "Quit shoving from behind!!"/ "Watch your   
hands!"/ "I can't MOVE my hands!"/ "You can stop moving   
your fingers!"/ "I wish I could SEE who I'm pushed up   
against!"/ "Hey! Put your knee back down!"/ "When you   
lower your shoulder!"  
  
Kuno stood before the pack, his hands holding a sword that   
was not there, "Go back, I say! You are outside of your   
assigned place! This is the domain of your sempais! Leave   
at once, or you shall feel the ire of the Blue Thunder   
of..." The noisy crowd wasn't even aware he was there, let   
alone who the boy in the Furinkan uniform was.   
  
However, from behind the crammed people, a very female   
voice in the hall was heard by at least one person, "Aki,   
if you can hear me, you have five seconds to kiss me."  
  
The widest of the guys cried, "Yuumei!?!" and sucked in his   
breath and gut to reverse direction. This left a large gap   
among the masses still trying to make it through the door.   
The ones in front fell forward.  
  
Kendo Master Kuno wasn't allowed to have his sword in   
class. He met the onslaught without any weapon. He was   
first trampled by the female students, then the male.  
  
Mr. Bozu met the same fate under the feet of the stampede.   
"Not the book! Not the--" The antique tome became even more   
distressed.  
  
Only Professional Beauty Contestant Yuumei Natsumi stepped   
over the prostrate males, "You should be sorry, Aki. You   
took longer than five seconds to reach me."  
  
Wrestling Club President Aki Jumonji didn't even notice who   
he was stepping on, "I don't get a kiss? I think you were   
just tricking me again, Yuumei!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
It took all of Nabiki's notorious composure to remain in   
her seat. Her two vice presidents, on the other hand, had   
disappeared to a far corner to let her deal with the mob on   
her own: "Nabiki Tendou, how dare you even HAVE pictures   
like that, let alone bring them to school!"/ "Worse! Try   
and SELL them!"/ "C'mon, Nanao! There are sexier pictures   
all over the media!"/ "Then WHY do you have to have   
pictures of Ranma!?!"/ "Because she's cute??"/ "Because   
she's here, and not there!"/ "Heh, heh! A girl you know   
that you know what she looks like naked!"/ "There! You   
see what you've started, Nabiki Tendou!!"/ "Who'll be   
undressed next in their dirty, little minds!?"  
  
A weakness of Nabiki's aikido Chi technique was that she   
couldn't deal with multiple attackers (unless, of course,   
they came at her like they did in martial arts movies, one   
after another). But grasping of as many individual Chi as   
she could she WAS able to read the group mindset. That was   
how she was able to pick what seemed the best moment to   
say, "Don't worry, girls. Ranma is practically unique. If   
Ranma's going to be their template, who the guys might be   
imagining as a naked girl will surprise them."  
  
The one adult voice rose above the others, "Nobody should   
imagine ANYBODY nude! In the Respectable Old Days, such was   
unheard of!"  
  
Go-don Amori agreed, "That's true: They still had mixed   
bathing before the Westerners spoiled things."  
  
Mr. Bozu declared, "That is NOT what I meant!" opening his   
book towards the hoi polloi. Many of the pages had been   
torn or ripped out by the stampede, but his "Book of   
Morality" could still do some of its magic: "Feel the   
punishment for your transgression against propriety!"  
  
A line jumped from the page and flew at the forehead of the   
nearest students. Those without a line instantly backed   
away, and even those with a line felt compelled to retreat   
from those whose line they could see. The Man of   
Righteousness told them, "Now, leave! Leave this classroom,   
leave this school--Leave the company of decent society!"  
  
Their protests were silenced in their throats as the   
convicted turned red. Most were red from shame, though   
three of them felt angry. Their faces marked, they were   
without a face and had no choice but to retreat in   
disgrace.   
  
The man held up his open book again. Fearing they would be   
next, the remaining students that didn't belong in his   
class hurried out.   
  
The teacher turned his attention on his own class. One girl   
in particular, "Miss Tendou," in said with all the doom he   
could put into his voice.   
  
Nabiki remained calm. "Mr. Bozu, I recognize the idea. They   
used to tattoo criminals on their arms or foreheads. But   
since you did not actually tattoo Natsumi and the others, I   
take it their ink stigmas will wear off?"  
  
Trying to control his indignation at her response, he said,   
"One mark will disappear in one full day. A taste of being   
shunned by family and friends should convince those who   
wish to remain in civil society to mend their ways.   
  
"But, you, Miss Tendou, have earned a SECOND mark! One for   
instigating the trouble in the first place, and the SECOND   
for not showing your superior the proper deference!"  
  
Nabiki said, "And the third mark will combine with the   
others to create the Japanese character for a dog, right?   
We in Asia really have it in for dogs, don't we? I thought   
you were TRYING to make us faithful servants?"  
  
"Your lack of contriteness has entitled you to the sign of   
evil, Tendou!! With this THIRD stroke, you are banished   
from everything you hold dear for an entire year!!" And the   
character leaped out his book.  
  
The ink splashed the long bangs that covered Nabiki's   
forehead.   
  
Hazime Bozu stared at the incoherent stain in disbelief.   
"The, the charges did not stick!?? But surely she has been   
offensive!"  
  
Nabiki leaned closer to the book, studying it. "Maybe   
you've been punishing too many people. The ink looks faded.   
See?"  
  
The teacher was indignant, "Morality SHOULDN'T change! What   
is wrong is always wrong!"   
  
"Too much retribution blurs the substance." She took hold   
of the book to show him about the ink. This infuriated him   
as nothing else in his life had. He WAS determined to put   
more effort in his spell. But the pages were now facing   
him.   
  
The sign for "Dog/Evil" struck his forehead. The book he   
was holding now became too hot for him to hold. He screamed   
like a lost soul as he dropped it. As it hit the floor it   
seemed to echo through his darkened heart.  
  
He ran in utter humiliation from the room, knocking out   
Kuno again as he was just getting up. And he ran from the   
school. But he did not leave Nerima. The outcast would be   
lurking.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Nabiki's vice presidents hurried to her. Ichie asked,   
"How?? How did you keep from being affected like the   
others?"  
  
She answered, "I told you I refuse to believe in magic."  
  
Tsugako added, "Or morality, either."  
  
Nabiki reached down for the fallen Book of Morality, "No.   
Morality has its place." She picked it up. "But it   
shouldn't be in the hands of fanatics. They don't   
understand its spirit, only the letter."  
  
Ichie noted, "Quite literally, in Bozu's case."  
  
To ease her tension, Tsugako tried to make a joke, "He   
wanted to build character by imposing a character."  
  
Nabiki picked up her bookbag, "This book may come in   
handy." And she put it in before heading for the door. "If   
you'll excuse me, I have to wash some ink out of my hair."  
  
It was a boy who finally realized, "Without a teacher,   
there's no class!"  
  
"Yeah! Free time!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Not long after, Ranma-chan and seven others were out in the   
hall in front of Classroom 1-F. She was still upset, "Why'd   
WE have to be out here, again!? WE didn't do anything!"  
  
Former gang girl Na said, "For a change."  
  
Yuka asked Kaneda, "Is this what it's like being punished?"  
  
Kaneda reminded her, "We're the only ones NOT being   
punished."  
  
Sayuri patiently explained to her, "The teacher couldn't   
send ALL of those who ran out of class and disrupted the   
school out into the hall. There were fewer of us who   
didn't, so he sent US out here."  
  
Na snorted, "AND those five members of the Haiku Club who   
stayed behind to write dirty poems on the blackboard."  
  
Daisuke asked, "How come we stayed behind? It's not like us   
to not try and get photos of a naked girl." He glanced over   
at one in the black, silk 'pajamas', "Especially a girl   
like Ranma."   
  
Hiroshi said, "Yes it is. If we liked to compete, we'd have   
real girls by now."  
  
"Oh, yeah!" Daisuke's natural frown deepened, "I hate   
crowds." It could make him feel very Un-Japanese.   
  
Na smirked, "Mr. Egami is going to be pulling extra hours.   
As the homeroom teacher, he's also the class counselor."  
  
Ranma had attended schools all over Japan, but what   
dominated her memories of them were the problems she had   
with the kids, not the boring parts. And this was her first   
time in a high school. Even so, she guessed that Furinkan   
was different from many. That's why she asked, "What now?   
Does the teacher come out here and teach us?"  
  
Kaneda said, "I doubt that."  
  
Sayuri agreed, "It would disrupt the other classes."  
  
Daisuke's frown lightened, "We don't have a class!"  
  
Ranma-chan said, "Then I don't have to hang around? Good!"   
And she headed for the nearest exit, the hall windows.  
  
Kaneda cried, "Ranma! Where are you going?!"  
  
"Guess!"  
  
Hiroshi cried, "Hey! Don't we get any consolation for not   
getting to keep our photos of you topless?" Just before Na   
elbowed the wind out of him.  
  
"What do you think?" the pigtailed girl said as she jumped   
from the third floor.  
  
Na said, "The third floor? Even I'm impressed."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
The rest of the group left the building the normal way.   
Kaneda lead the way, "I think I know where Ranma went. But   
we may have had better luck to stay where we were." The   
Principal might already be back at Classroom 1-F. He was   
surprised Miss Hinako hadn't done anything about the   
disruption. But she did say the teachers had made her agree   
to let THEM tell her when they needed her help. As a reform   
school teacher, she might even like NOT being called on to   
use her "Happo Satsu" technique to handle every little   
disturbance. After all, she would want to be respected for   
her other talents, as well.  
  
Daisuke said, "Stay in school when we don't HAVE to be!?"  
  
Na agreed.  
  
Yuka asked, "I kind of like school."  
  
Sayuri asked Hiroshi, "Why are YOU hanging around? Why do   
you want to find Ranma.... Forget I asked."  
  
Hiroshi said, "I'm as big a martial arts fan as you are."   
Even he knew that was a weak defense.   
  
When they came to the area with holes in the trees,   
everybody but Kaneda had to stop, and stare at the tree   
house painted in black-and-gray anime.   
  
Kaneda continued on. The redheaded guy thought his sharp   
martial arts hearing picked up familiar voices out in the   
track-and-field area beyond the trees.   
  
There, Ranma-chan was trying to convince the acting   
principal, and very adult Miss Hinako that, "...You said   
you'd cure me!"  
  
A bit annoyed, the woman said, "I said I will ATTEMPT to   
cure you, Miss Ranma. And that can only be effective if you   
are in serious competition." She tapped her hand purse   
against her just-above-the-knee black skirt to emphasize   
her impatience.  
  
Ranma-chan stomped her foot and started pacing as she tried   
to think of something else to win her argument. When she   
saw Kaneda she lit up, "Hey! Kaneda can give me some   
serious competition!" Then she muttered, "He'd better, or   
he WILL face a serious fight."  
  
Miss Hinako's face lit up, too, after seeing the handsome   
teen, "Hello, Mr. Tendou! I hear your second period class   
has been cancelled for the day?"  
  
Kaneda approached them, "Uh, for a few of us. They should   
be here in a minute or so."  
  
Miss Hinako nodded, "I'm glad I'll be able to provide adult   
supervision." For a change.  
  
Ranma-chan ran up to him, "Enough talkin'! C'mon and spar!"  
  
Kaneda was barely able to step back from Ranma's blow in   
time. Kaneda put up a hand to block her other fist. That   
hurt! But he used it to push himself further back. Out of   
her reach, she tried to kick him; he pushed off from her   
foot. She advanced on with her other foot, using the foot   
she tried to kick him with as a lance. He stumbled; she   
missed. He rolled; she followed...  
  
The others had gotten there in time to see it. Hiroshi   
cried, "A fight!"  
  
Daisuke said, "That's not a fight. Nothing's connecting."  
  
Yuka said, "Aww! Kaneda's being a gentleman. How sweet."  
  
Na said, "Sweet my ass. Kaneda's just afraid a small girl   
is going to beat HIS sorry butt."  
  
Sayuri said, "Well, as a martial arts fan, I will say it   
does take skill to remain on the defensive for any length   
of time. And kempo is founded on defense."  
  
Na said, "But you'd still like to see real a fight."  
  
Sayuri said, "*Sigh* Yes."  
  
Daisuke asked, "Want to bet, then, who can last the   
longest?"  
  
Sayuri said, "All things being even, girls have greater   
stamina."  
  
Hiroshi asked, "Then there's no way Kaneda can win?"  
  
Na snorted, "Not unless he has some secret technique."  
  
Kaneda WAS starting to get exhausted. Ranma-chan was   
forcing him to the point where he'd have to choose to   
seriously fight or take a humiliating dive. The longer it   
went on, the more he saw their future as HER out in the   
dojo and him taking care of the house. There was no comfort   
in the knowledge she wasn't using her full speed against   
him, yet.   
  
Ranma looked over her shoulder, "Well, Miss Hinako!?! Is   
this serious enough? Or do I stop treating him like a   
girl?"  
  
Hiroshi said, "Low blow."  
  
Kaneda turned red, angered at being humiliated in front of   
his friends.   
  
Daisuke said, "You couldn't use your martial arts to at   
least cop a feel?"  
  
Na said, "He doesn't have the guts."  
  
Kaneda's pride screamed, "Ha-Yaaaa!!" as he charged Ranma-  
chan.  
  
Miss Hinako slammed him with her Happo Change Return Chi-  
releasing technique, tossing him several meters away.   
Kaneda landed chin in the track's hard clay, centimeters   
from the starting line.  
  
Again, Miss Hinako had become a little girl, who scolded,   
"Miss Ranma! Look what you made me do to poor Mr. Tendou!"   
Her above-the-knee skirt had become a midi. Her little   
hands were almost lost in the oversized crochet sweater.  
  
"Why'd you do that for? He was about to give me some   
serious competition!?"  
  
"Miss Ranma, fighting him will not solve your problem."  
  
"It won't?" She glared at Kaneda as the bruised boy picked   
himself up. "You're right. Even mad, he'd probably hold   
back." He was really a girl, after all. In Ranma's limited   
experience with them, he hadn't come across many who COULD   
put their heart into fighting.   
  
Na said, "If you want to fight somebody who won't hold   
back, how about me?" She was one of those girls who could.  
  
Ranma-chan studied the tall, well-muscled girl who'd loaned   
her her gym clothes yesterday when Ranma-chan had been nude   
in the girls' locker room. "Do you know anything about   
martial arts?"  
  
She put up her fists, and took an unorthodox stance, "No.   
But I've been in my share of brawls. I was watching you,   
and I think I can go a few minutes with you."  
  
Ranma-chan was still frowning, "I'd rather fight a guy.   
Then *I* wouldn't have to hold back."  
  
Hiroshi and Daisuke said, "Don't look at us!"  
  
Sayuri accused, "Cowards."  
  
"You bet!"  
  
Reluctantly, Ranma-chan got into position, fists ready,   
"Well, if it means I won't be expected to fight girls   
again--"  
  
Miss Hinako stomped her feet, "No, no, no! That's not how   
you play! I told you fighting's not the answer!"  
  
Ranma-chan said to the annoying child, "What IS the answer,   
then!?!"  
  
"I told you, competition! Competition!!" her frustration   
was raising as the little girl tried to find the right   
words to explain.   
  
Kaneda was returning, "I think she means sports. I guess as   
a martial artist, it feels familiar to you. There isn't the   
uncertainty you get when you feel there's a good chance you   
might lose."  
  
Miss Hinako ran over to the teenager, "That's right! That's   
exactly what makes a competition!" She grabbed one of his   
hands with her little ones, "I'm sorry, Mr. Tendou! Are you   
alright?! I didn't mean to hurt you? Will you forgive me?"  
  
Kaneda felt uncomfortable, "Uh, sure, Miss Hinako." When he   
tried to pull his hand free, the little principal wouldn't   
let it go.   
  
Na said, "You're fast, Ranma. But those moves of yours are   
all for launching your body or parts. I bet I can beat you   
in a race with any distance."  
  
Ranma-chan said, "That sounds like a challenge."  
  
Na stayed where she was. "It's a bet. You want to feel the   
stakes are high? I say if I win, you have to do what I say   
for a week."  
  
Sayuri cried, "Na!"  
  
Yuka said, "I know this game."  
  
Kaneda gritted his teeth and prayed, "Come on, Ranma. Pass   
up on a challenge." If Ranma DID lose, he could lose her   
for a week to somebody else, maybe more.  
  
Ranma-chan at least saw the trap, "You want me to agree to   
be your slave!?!"  
  
Na headed for the starting line, now, "You'll only be a   
slave if I treat you like a slave. If I want you around   
after one week, I won't." She looked over her shoulder,   
"But, then, I don't know yet if I do want you around."  
  
Ranma had been challenged by a girl in a strictly athletic,   
non-contact event. And now that the terms were set, she was   
giving her no time get out of it with any dignity. Ranma   
joined her; if she didn't, she would have already lost.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
As the others gathered closer to the starting line, Yuka   
asked, "Don't we need a flag or something?"  
  
Sayuri said, "Yuka, in a foot race, you normally have a gun   
or a horn."  
  
Yuka smiled, "And a tape across the finish! I've seen   
that."  
  
Hiroshi said, "Why don't we use your ribbon, Sayuri?"  
  
She frowned at him, "It's not long enough. Why don't we tie   
it to your tongue."  
  
Yuka asked, "How are we going to know who wins, if it's a   
photo finish?"  
  
Na had stripped down to the gym clothes she seemed to   
always wear under her uniform, and was now getting down   
into the starting position, "It won't be. The track's   
horseshoe bends will take away the advantage Ranma has in   
her straight-line kicks."  
  
Ranma-chan crouched, too, "The Saotome School specializes   
in mid-air pivots. I can launch myself, and THEN make the   
turn."  
  
Na kept her confident smile, "Pivots? You're going to do   
pivots on an oval?"   
  
Ranma-chan grumbled. Na was right. Ranma's training had   
been for sharp, violent maneuvers. They just appeared   
fluid. And if the girl with the longer legs had been in   
many track races, SHE would be the one with the techniques.  
  
Yuka cried, "GO!" and they went.  
  
Sayuri asked, "Why'd you do that?!"  
  
Yuka said, "They seemed ready and set."  
  
Hiroshi said, "Look at them go!"  
  
On the outside, Ranma-chan took the early lead, using her   
powerful lower-body muscles to leap ahead. Na sneered as   
she propelled herself forward. Ranma was bounding. While   
the little redhead was stuck up in an arc, she would be   
taking the shortcut on the ground. She'd even lowered   
herself to lessen the wind resistance. That was another   
thing Ranma was exposing herself to by jumping.   
  
Na's confidence started to fade when she saw Ranma-chan   
land BEYOND where the arc of her leap should have taken   
her. The little redhead had then immediately launched   
herself again with the foot she'd just landed. Na had to   
restudy her strategy. To her surprise, she saw that Ranma   
could almost run in air! She was somehow using her whole   
body to flatten and lengthen her arc! But the first turn   
was coming. That was the perfect place to mess Ranma's race   
plan up. "Hey, girl!" Unknowingly she'd already hurt   
Ranma's concentration by calling her a girl. "How much do   
you WANT a chance of losing?!"  
  
No Ranma didn't want a chance of losing. It went against   
everything he'd been raised and trained to be. But if she   
won too easily, she may just lose her chance to stop being   
a girl! To really compete, to feel the maximum amount of   
heart pumping adrenalin at the end, to win the CURE, she   
would have to give herself a handicap!   
  
Ranma didn't compensate and control her drilled-in pivot   
habits. She spun around and landed facing the way she'd   
come. Meanwhile, Na took a shortcut she couldn't take in a   
real race: She ricocheted off of the grass curb of the   
track, cut across the oval. She then ricocheted again   
before straightening herself out on the inside lane...  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Sayuri said, "Wow, Na is actually in the lead."  
  
Hiroshi said, "But Ranma's turned herself around! She's   
taking the turn in two jumps."  
  
Daisuke said, "It'd be faster if she just jumped across to   
the other side of the track. Ranma can do that."  
  
Yuka cheered, "Yeah, Ranma! Yeah, Na! Go, girls! Go,   
girls!"  
  
Kaneda said, "Er, Miss Hinako, shouldn't you be doing   
something?" She still refused to let go of his hand.  
  
The young girl looked up into his blue eyes, "Hmm? I'm   
supposed to do something?"   
  
"You're said you'd cure Ranma?" Not that he really wanted   
Ranma cured of being a girl. But he'd become part of   
Ranma's curse. He thought of Ranma as a girl, and so she   
couldn't really be cured. And if she were made temporarily   
a guy, right now he was willing to risk it. He was rattled   
by the little kid making goo-goo eyes up at him. He knew   
she had to use her hands to use her Chi technique.   
  
"I did? Can't that wait? I can do it during gym class." Her   
smile brightened, "Don't YOU have the same gym class?"  
  
Kaneda really began to sweat. It was one thing for a grown   
woman to come on to him, but-- "Miss Hinako! If you use   
your technique on Ranma, won't you become an, uh, adult?!"  
  
The child grinned with delight, "Of course! Now IS the best   
time to be a grown woman!"   
  
She let go of Kaneda...with only one of her hands. She got   
the hand purse out from under her armpit and tried to open   
it without letting go of his hand. "Here, let me hold it,"   
he offered. "Hurry! Here they come!"  
  
She got out a 50-yen coin and held it out in front of her.   
  
Ranma was still up in the air. She was about to land on the   
other side of the finish line. But if anything was to   
happen to cause her to lose her momentum, Na's own last   
minute kick would make her the winner by a nose.   
  
Miss Hinako shouted, "Happo 50-yen Satsu--Bad Boy Exorcised   
Number One!!"  
  
Green tendrils came out from her Chi aura and went through   
the hole in the coin. They reached out for the nearest   
battle aura it was aimed at. And on the outside lane, that   
was Ranma-chan's. And her Male Chi Spirit of Competition   
was at its most intense.   
  
Ranma's momentum was lost. She fell with a plop.  
  
The lines of Chi force had grabbed hold of Ranma's aura.   
This time, though it pulled only pieces from her Chi. The   
pieces became Yin and Yang colors. What remained behind to   
fill in the gaps was baby blue. The color that was   
withdrawn with the green tendrils was pink, the traditional   
Japanese color for boys.   
  
The pink Chi was pulled through the 50-yen hole and into   
the little Miss Hinako...and passed through her hand, into   
Kaneda! From the purse he was still holding he felt   
something familiar happen--But that was impossible!  
  
Her green tendrils gone, and her aura dimmed, Miss Hinako   
looked down at herself. She then cried in her little girl   
voice, "Why didn't I change?? Why am I still a kid!?" She   
let go of Kaneda's hand to have a tantrum, "Why can't I   
grow up! I want to grow up! Why can't I be a real women!"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Meanwhile, Yuka and the others ran for the fallen girl on   
the track, "Don't move her, yet! You might make her   
worse!"/ "Are you okay, Ranma!?!"/ "Please be okay,   
Ranma!"/ "Yeah, we want to see in class not a hospital!"/   
"Poor, Ranma! At least she didn't lose at martial arts!"  
  
Ranma mumbled, "I...didn't...lose." Her arm was stretch   
out, and her fingers were just across the line.   
  
Na crawled across the finish line, and smiled,   
"Congratulations, Ranma-chan! You won me for a whole week!"  
  
Ranma-chan got up on her elbows, "I didn't agree to that."  
  
Na said, "A bet is a bet." She knelt in front of her, "And   
YOU didn't say your side of the bet was different!" She   
poked Ranma-chan on the nose, "I have to do whatever you   
say for a week, Ranma-chan."  
  
Ranma-chan blushed, "You WANT to be my friend?" It was only   
then that she noticed that Na's voice had become girlish.   
Like her own.   
  
Na said, "Of course I do, silly!"  
  
A tear formed in the corners of her eyes, Ranma-chan smiled   
up at her, "I'll try my best!"  
  
As the weakened Na helped Ranma-chan up, Daisuke asked, "Do   
you notice anything different about both of them?"  
  
Hiroshi nodded, "Yeah. They're both acting like girls."  
  
Sayuri said, "Those two tomboys?? ...But they're right! I   
can feel it in their auras. They've become more feminine   
than me!"  
  
Yuka was now helping both Ranma and Na up, "Hurray! I have   
two girl-girl friends!"   
  
It was true. Na as a semi-reformed delinquent had had more   
Yang than a well-balanced girl normally had. This male   
spirit, as happens in most competitions, had been brought   
forward and concentrated. Since she and Ranma were vying   
with each other, their energies were intermingled. That was   
how Na's weaker masculine traits had been caught up in the   
suction that was trying to draw in Ranma's far more   
tenacious ones. When Miss Hinako had extracted the Male   
Principle from her Special Project, Ranma, she had had to   
create a bigger drain than she had ever made before. That   
was because, unknown to her, the girl she was curing of her   
unfeminine ways WAS a male.   
  
And when the bulk of their Yang Chi had finally been broken   
loose from them, the momentum carried them through Miss   
Hinako towards the male fetish her little girl had   
forgotten she had in her hand purse. She was carrying it   
for just that purpose. But at the moment her childish   
impulses had wanted to hold onto Kaneda.  
  
Kaneda had been holding both her hand AND the object that   
was specifying WHAT kind of Chi was to flow.   
  
Things did not work as Miss Hinako had planned. She did not   
have the chance to eat Ranma's Chi. Most of Ranma's and   
Na's Male Power had flowed into Kaneda Tendou.   
  
"Aw, all of the girlies in a group hug. Isn't that just too   
cute." Kaneda's voice had lowered noticeably.  
  
Sayuri was startled by the unfamiliar edge to his voice.   
"I'm not over there...." When she looked at him, she was   
nearly shocked at his appearance. Though he was no taller   
than 179 cm/1'10" he looked taller. His uniform had become   
tighter, as his muscles had become tenser and more defined.   
This was most obviously in his hardened face. He radiated   
masculinity in his aura...and it was threatening to turn   
her on.  
  
Meanwhile Hiroshi and Daisuke were noticing the differences   
in quickly recovering Ranma-chan, and Na. "Wow! Have they   
gotten cuter?"  
  
Daisuke said, "Ranma has. She's gotten softer...more," he   
used his hands, "curvy!"   
  
It wasn't just because of her sudden loss of energy that   
Ranma-chan was letting her curves be where they naturally   
wanted to be. She was more loose and relaxed as she was now   
truly comfortable with her female body. It was her MALE   
body which would soon trouble her.   
  
Daisuke wondered, "Do you think she'll wiggle?"  
  
Hiroshi said, "Let's hope she does."  
  
How feminine was Ranma's female side? The way Genma had   
isolated and raised his son and heir left Ranma with little   
more than stereotypes about girls. These did not include   
anything overtly sexy, though.   
  
...But now Ranma was ready to take her cues from the girls   
around her. If they wiggled, teased, or flirted....  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Yuka broke from her hug of the two former tomboys. She felt   
closer than she ever had towards them. They even felt like   
girls she could relate to, "Why the change from attitude?"  
  
Na asked, "I don't know. I still remember everything. I can   
even give all the details about the rumbles I've been in. I   
just can't understand WHY I would want to do the things I   
used to do."  
  
Ranma-chan agreed with Na, "It's more like a dream than   
something that's supposed to be real. I remember things   
from the past, but it's like they happened to somebody   
else, not me." Her smile became bright and friendly, "I'd   
rather forget about that person. Okay?"  
  
For some reason that smile bugged Kaneda, "Ranma, come over   
here! You're MY fiancée, you should be with me."  
  
Ranma said winsomely, "Oh, Kanchan! I LIVE with you! We   
have lots of time together! I want to spend sometime with   
my girl friends!"  
  
That wasn't good enough for Kaneda. He strode over to the   
little pigtailed bitch, "I SAID I want you with me!"   
  
As soon as he grabbed her by her wrist, a connection was   
made. He'd been overcharged with Chi he wasn't managing   
correctly. The fetish in the hand purse he was still   
holding allowed for the discharge most of Kaneda's Yin   
Principle into Ranma. Ranma was made even more female.  
  
But it also made Kaneda feel less conflicted. Though he now   
had a very high dose of testosterone, he became somewhat   
less tense and hard. His natural hot-and-cold anger was   
still there, but it had moved away from the need to prove   
just how much of man he really was. He let go of her wrist.   
  
He didn't apologize, but he backed off.  
  
But Ranma now wanted to follow him. "Oh, Kaneda! I will go   
with you!" She'd felt that sudden surge of femininity came   
though HIS masculinity. She felt something she'd never felt   
before. She felt like an incomplete opposite.   
  
Little Miss Hinako came up to Kaneda and grabbed her purse   
back. "I don't like you like this!!" she yelled at him like   
the kid she was. "I liked you better when you were nice!"   
As a reform teacher, she had had more than her share of   
overly masculine-types, both as students and guards. She   
held up the 50-yen coin.   
  
Kaneda grinned. "Oh, yes. This is were you change into a   
hot babe." Hiroshi and Daisuke formed a part of HIS idea of   
what it meant to be a guy.  
  
Miss Hinako called out, "Happo 50-yen Satsu--Good Boy--"  
  
What happened next happened without Ranma consciously   
thinking about it. As soon as Ranma's trained senses judged   
when the Principal was about her own age, her quick   
reflexes tackled her, "Leave my Kaneda alone!"  
  
Miss Hinako did not stop at being a sixteen-year-old. She   
continued until she was her normal adult form. But almost   
immediately she regressed. Ranma-chan found herself   
straddling a child almost half her age.   
  
Ranma-chan turned red, "Oo! Oo! I'm so sorry!!" She   
hurriedly got off the smaller girl, "I don't know what came   
over me! Forgive me, Miss Hinako! I abhor violence! Some,   
something came over me!" Despite being mostly female, now,   
Ranma-chan still had some Yang left in her. And that was   
trained to take action.  
  
Little Miss Hinako glared at her, "Let's see how jealous   
you are when I take away his masculinity!"  
  
Kaneda's manliness had been lowered, but it was still well   
over what he had experienced before, "My masculinity!? Hey,   
wait a minute, there, Miss Principal! My being less of man   
would mean I'd appreciate girls less, right?" He took her   
coin away. "That's something I definitely can do without."   
  
When Miss Hinako reached for her purse, Kaneda took that,   
as well. "No more magic coins for you, little lady."  
  
"I don't need coins! ANY circle will do!" she declared,   
holding up her hands.   
  
"Oh, really?" He stuck a couple of fingers in between the   
hers.   
  
Miss Hinako broke the finger circle and reformed it. Kaneda   
stuck his fingers in this one. This was repeated a third   
and a fourth and a fifth time!  
  
Meanwhile, his other fingers caught hold of her small chin,   
"Miss Hinako, did you say any circle? How about the one you   
make when you kiss?"  
  
The startled girl stammered, "Wha, wha, what??"   
  
He moved closer to her lips, "I would prefer to kiss you as   
a fully developed woman, but what if...."  
  
Miss Hinako squeezed her eyes together, and beat him   
against the chest, "No, no! I'm not allowed to kiss!" She   
scrambled to her feet and ran; she wept loud and bitterly,   
"I'm not allowed to do ANYTHING grownup!"  
  
Daisuke's said, "Ever?"  
  
Hiroshi's fantasies took a hit as well, "That doesn't mean   
when she IS grownup, does it?" But that was the seed of the   
answer. Sooner or later she WOULD become underage.   
  
Kaneda wasn't disappointed at the rejection. He smirked.  
  
Sayuri told him, "That was mean."  
  
He got back up, "As opposed to what she wanted to do to   
me?"   
  
Ranma-chan repeated the name of the defeated in sympathy,   
"Miss Hinako." She then smiled when she saw Kaneda, "I like   
you the way you are."  
  
Na smiled, too, "You do seem more attractive." She giggled,   
"Or is it just me?"  
  
Kaneda said, "You do too, Sweetie."  
  
Ranma-chan felt jealous. She took one of his arms in hers.   
"It's time to go to class, Kanchan."  
  
Kaneda looked down at her, and said suggestively, "Why   
don't we skip school today, Honey?"  
  
Little Ranma felt weak in the knees, but she said, blushing   
maidenly, "It just wouldn't be proper to leave early. We'll   
have our time together, away from our friends. We live   
together."  
  
He groaned, "I wish we DID live together."  
  
Sayuri stepped up beside Ranma, "Cool it, girl. Don't get   
overheated. Save it for the honeymoon."  
  
Yuka chanted one of her daddum's lessons, " "Once a guy   
gets what he wants, he will leave you for somebody else he   
wants"."  
  
Na said sadly, "Yes, that has unfortunately been my all too   
sad experience." She stood by her friend, "Hold out, Ranma-  
chan!"  
  
Ranma-chan looked to her friends, "You think so?" They all   
nodded. She looked up to Kaneda.  
  
He asked, "Are you going to listen to them or ME?"  
  
Ranma looked at neither side. She gazed off, unfocused. She   
said, at last, "I'm going listen to myself." She looked up   
into his eyes, pleading that they would understand, "I'm   
not ready yet." She squeezed his arm, "But when I am, I   
want it to be with you...Darling."  
  
Kaneda patted her hand.  
  
He then pried it off. He said to Hiroshi and Daisuke,   
"Let's skip school. I'm just too restless to sit at a desk   
today." And without waiting for them to answer, he was on   
his way. His two friends followed.  
  
Sayuri said, "Ow! That was harsh."  
  
Na tried to comfort the rejected Ranma-chan, "Don't let him   
get to you, Ranma-chan. He still wants you. He's just   
playing the hard-to-get game."  
  
Sayuri said, "That's right, Ranma. And YOU'VE got to play   
that game even harder! If you don't, you'll be under his   
thumb."   
  
While Ranma was thinking about what had been said, Yuka had   
looked in the open purse. "What was Miss Hinako doing with   
this?" she said, holding up the fetish.   
  
Na blushed, "It looks like she does do at least ONE thing   
an adult woman does."   
  
To Ranma it only looked like a slender wooden carp with   
triangular scales. As she was struggling to figure out   
what it was about that disturbed them, her trained Chi   
sense noticed, "Oh, wow...do you feel all that MALE   
energy!"  
  
Yuka dropped it, "Is THAT what I feel!?!"  
The End of the chapter 


	22. 22: I AmPretty Positive

Ranma & Kaneda  
  
By Ron Dow75  
  
  
  
Week One: Tuesday  
  
She-Ranma, Day One  
  
Ch. 22: I Am...Pretty Positive  
  
She-Ranma felt the male aura that infused the wooden carp   
  
that had been in Miss Hinako's hand purse. That male   
  
energy seemed familiar. She picked it off the ground from   
  
where Yuka had dropped it on by side the school track.   
  
Yuka warned, "You're not going to TOUCH it!? It makes you   
  
feel, --Well, you KNOW."  
  
The pigtailed girl in the black, Chinese pants suit   
  
studied the magic object. She asked in a stereotypically   
  
Asian girly voice, high and soft, "It makes you feel like   
  
you have...a family?"   
  
Yuka said, "What kind of family do you come from!?!"   
  
The female-infused Ranma said, "Not one with a brother."  
  
Na said, "I have a brother."  
  
Sayuri said, "They have a word for when a brother makes   
  
you feel like that. Not a very good word, either."  
  
Ranma-chan said, "I can't say I entirely like this   
  
brother. But somebody has to see he doesn't get in   
  
trouble."   
  
The former gang girl said, "My brother deserved to be in   
  
trouble." Didn't her?  
  
Yuka said, "I just know the thing is troubling."   
  
Sayuri asked, "So, is that what you're going to call it,   
  
Ranma? Are you going to be your Brother's keeper?"   
  
She-Ranma looked around for a place to put it, "I wish I   
  
had a purse to put him in." She decided to put it between   
  
the white sash and the black silk pants it was holding   
  
up. If she used a side weapon, that's where she would   
  
keep it. Oh, dear! Did she have to think like that?   
  
Sayuri said, "You really don't feel anything?"  
  
Ranma-chan said, "Just a little sympathy mixed with   
  
jealousy mixed with anger mixed with.... Oh, dear! Now I   
  
know how the Tendou sisters must feel about their   
  
brother, Kaneda."   
  
Hiroshi came up to her, "What are you girls talking   
  
about?"   
  
Startled, she-Ranma jumped backward, raising a thigh and   
  
a hand in the pose; the other girls also reacted. "What   
  
are you doing back!?? I thought you went with Kaneda?!"   
  
With his natural frown, Daisuke said, "The "High and   
  
Mighty Martial Artist" was so into his own self he   
  
wouldn't slow down. Why try and catch him, when we can   
  
try and catch--"   
  
Hiroshi hurried to change the subject back to, "You were   
  
saying what you were talking about?" He hoped it was   
  
something sexy.  
  
Na said, "We were talking about the Ran-chan's "little   
  
brother"."  
  
As she-Ranma calmed herself down, she said, "I'm not sure   
  
what it is. But I know it's magic."  
  
Yuka said, "Magic, she calls it."   
  
Sayuri, starting to show signs of her discomfort around   
  
it, said, "Do you really think it's a fetish, Ranma?"  
  
Daisuke leaned closer to it, "A fetish? Are you sure? It   
  
doesn't look like any I've seen in the magazines."  
  
Boys! Sayuri told him, "A fetish is what they call ANY   
  
magic object. That's what the word meant before guys like   
  
you perverted it."  
  
Daisuke said, "Before...? I get it. It used to be a girl   
  
word." It certainly had the shape and size of something   
  
that should interest girls more than guys.   
  
Yuka asked, "Sayuri, you really don't believe in magic?"   
  
She liked to pretend there was magic, of course, but like   
  
most people, she really didn't think magic happened to   
  
people she knew. And the wooden carp didn't look like any   
  
magical wand on any "Magical Girl" anime she'd seen.   
  
Sayuri started walking away from the object, and the girl   
  
who had it, "You know I'm a martial arts fan. The best   
  
ones use chi. Chi is more BASIC than magic. It's the   
  
animate force in everything. Even a thing or a place may   
  
have some."  
  
Ranma-chan said, "I never heard chi described like that."   
  
Of course, she hadn't paid all that much attention to the   
  
boring side of her training. Martial arts were about   
  
action, not talking. Talking is what Pop did.   
  
Oh, dear, she didn't know why she fought, did she?  
  
Sayuri continued, "There are different ideas about what   
  
Chi, or Ki, is. I think it's potential. Anti-entropy."   
  
And before the guys could say something stupid about   
  
that, too, she told them, "But Chi is concentrated   
  
anything that's not ordinary. The Polynesians call it   
  
mana. Just touching something with mana is taboo with   
  
them. It's like discharging electricity. That's the flow   
  
of Chi."   
  
Na smiled, "You mean, if I touched an extraordinary guy,   
  
I would get a charge?"  
  
Yuka said, "I know the feeling." And despite what had   
  
happened, she still stayed near attractive aura.  
  
Ranma-chan smiled, "You know a lot about it, Sayuri." She   
  
wanted to please, so she didn't bother to question how   
  
well Sayuri's ideas matched with those Ranma had buried.   
  
Just the sound of Ranma's overly feminine voice was   
  
starting to get to Sayuri. "When you're a fan, you're   
  
interested in all aspects." Now that she found an   
  
audience, she couldn't resist going on a bit, "In living   
  
beings, Chi can become concentrated enough to become   
  
animal magnetism. That's what people like martial artists   
  
use to control chi."  
  
Ranma couldn't tune everything out for ten years;   
  
something connected, "Magnetism?... Don't magnets have   
  
poles, positive and negative? You know, male and female."  
  
Na said, "You mean female and male."  
  
Ranma told her innocently, "I said positive first. Male   
  
is positive."   
  
Na said, "Ranma, I hope you don't think being feminine is   
  
a negative?"   
  
Ranma crossed her eyes as she looked inside herself. "I   
  
don't feel very negative."  
  
Sayuri merely grunted.  
  
Na said, "You're serious. Ranma, why'd you even have to   
  
think about it?"  
  
Ranma said, "When Pop and I stopped at temples---"  
  
Na said, "I should have known it was your dad,   
  
brainwashing you."   
  
Yuka said, "Poor Ranma."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Back in her tree house office, Miss Hinako drew in the   
  
excess Chi energy of the school through the holes bored   
  
in the trees around her. The little girl grew up to be   
  
the 25-year-old her birth certificate said she was. The   
  
beauty said, "Mmm... There. Now have Mr. Kaneda Tendou   
  
try anything with me." As she knew she would, a part of   
  
her wished he would. She had lived with those feelings   
  
for years. But it was rare for her to meet somebody who   
  
made her want to act on them.   
  
"...Mr. Tendou IS handsome. ...That long red hair frames   
  
his strong face like a ronin hero out of a samurai epic."   
  
She almost allowed herself to giggle at the thought of,   
  
"What he'd look like with a moustache?" But the picture   
  
became ruined when she remembered the last time she saw   
  
him. "His face is no longer gentle."   
  
She became lost in her thoughts. She had wanted to help   
  
the boy as she had just helped Miss Ranma. All three of   
  
them were victims of the Anything-Goes School's reckless   
  
use of special techniques. The only difference between   
  
what had happened to her, as she saw it, was that it was   
  
their gender that had been cursed, not their age. Ranma   
  
was a girl with a guy's spirit. While poor Kaneda had to   
  
deal with being a guy with a girl's spirit. "No wonder   
  
he's been in so many fights. He had to try and PROVE he   
  
was a real man.  
  
She frowned, "But now he is TOO much of a man. I know   
  
from being a reform school teacher, things can only get   
  
worse in his life if he stays like that." She made a fist   
  
at those memories, "Correcting their excessive machismo   
  
is why I wanted something like the Yang Balancer." And   
  
she may have had it sooner, if it weren't for her child's   
  
accursed short attention span.   
  
It filled here with self-confidence now that she had her   
  
child under control, "I won't let Mr. Kaneda become a   
  
punk!" Reaching for her handbag, she said, "I will modify   
  
his polarity again. Instead of attracting too much male   
  
Yang energy, he'll attract more female Yin energy." The   
  
hand purse wasn't within reach. She started look more   
  
seriously for it. "The trick will be to find the right   
  
balance of Yin and Yang." Her mind distracted, she   
  
continued with her search around the office, "Of course   
  
it wouldn't be so bad if he were sensitive. I like men   
  
who can cry." Smiling, she squatted and looked under the   
  
table with her toys and other play things on it, "Where   
  
is that fetish? Without it, the person adjusted will stay   
  
the way they are as if they had been born with that   
  
balance of male and female."   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
She-Ranma could not look at her classmates; instead she   
  
pretended she was interested in the wooden carp. "Pop   
  
didn't brainwash me." But she realized, "But my life HAS   
  
only been about training and traveling. I really don't   
  
know much about girls. Just what I've seen along the way   
  
and been told of them."  
  
Na said, "See? Being a girl doesn't have to be negative."   
  
Memories of a different attitude were ignored.   
  
Yuka grinned, "I always try to be positive."  
  
She-Ranma nodded. Yes, positive. She put on a hopeful   
  
smile and lifted her big, blue, "This is my chance to   
  
learn something beside just martial artists." Right now   
  
that seemed something negative. But, still, the martial   
  
artist in her needed a challenge: "I CAN do the most   
  
important job of all!" There: She had made the giant   
  
leap.   
  
Daisuke asked, " "The most important job"? A girl can   
  
have that?"   
  
She-Ranma said, "Yes: Only a GIRL can be a housewife!"   
  
Hiroshi, Daisuke and even Sayuri facefaulted. Na asked   
  
Yuka, "IS being a housewife the most important job of   
  
all?" Though she, too, had her excess male spirit   
  
converted, being a girl all of her life, she had fewer   
  
illusions.   
  
Yuka said, "I always heard it was being a mother."   
  
She-Ranma said, "A mother?" a strange feeling started to   
  
open up in her.   
  
Sayuri was back on her feet, "This isn't the time before   
  
the World War II! Women have the right to be MORE than   
  
just a housewife and a mother!"   
  
(Daisuke nodded, "I have fantasies about office girls."  
  
(Hiroshi said, "JUST office girls!? Why do you think they   
  
give manga girls all those good jobs?")   
  
She-Ranma said, "But isn't being a wife and..." blush "a   
  
mother....Aren't THEY what really make a woman a woman?   
  
After all, they are duties a man cannot do."   
  
Sayuri said, "You need to see my father. My mother only   
  
"walks three steps behind" her guy in public. At my   
  
house, it's the houseHUSBAND."   
  
Na had some memories of her old self, "That's right.   
  
There are all sorts of stories about wives who take it   
  
out on their husbands when they get home and can be   
  
themselves."   
  
She-Ranma tried to imagine what it would be like for a   
  
guy to be married, or even engaged, to girl like that.   
  
She felt sorry for the guy. A girl should not be like   
  
that. Her culture had told her, "...That's only because   
  
those poor women have not accepted their place in the   
  
natural order. Only then can they find fulfillment." As   
  
she talked, she-Ranma felt even more open to the   
  
experiment. As a martial artist she could relate to self-  
  
sacrifice.   
  
Sayuri saw this girl DID have a lot to learn. But for the   
  
moment, she was repelled by the caricature of a woman   
  
Ranma-chan seemed to have turned into.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
The six finally reached the main building. She-Ranma had   
  
been so busy sorting through her unfamiliar feelings she   
  
had let her friends do most of the talking, answering   
  
only when they asked a question. That, too, seemed the   
  
right thing to do. A girl should be as inconspicuous as   
  
she was allowed to be.  
  
Unconsciously, she had adopting the postures of the girls   
  
around her.   
  
So into her own little world, she didn't notice the many   
  
accidents that were going on around her. Those with her   
  
did. And it wasn't just the boys who were tripping and   
  
running into things. Of course, when the girls did it,   
  
they didn't have a goofy look on their faces.   
  
Quiet as she had been, when they got to stairs leading to   
  
her classroom, she just had to say, "Please, gentlemen,   
  
go ahead of us."   
  
Sayuri rolled her eyes. Talk about feudal ways.   
  
Daisuke didn't want to, "I want YOU to go ahead of us."   
  
Hiroshi said, "Me, too! I agree with the Western saying,   
  
"Ladies first"!"  
  
Sayuri told him, "You do? Didn't you ever think we'd   
  
rather look at YOUR butts than you look at ours?"  
  
(Ranma felt a mild flush.)   
  
Daisuke said, "In THOSE school uniforms!? What is there   
  
to look at!?! Why can't Furinkan have mini-skirts like   
  
other schools!?! THEN there'd be something to look at   
  
when girls go up the stairs!"   
  
Hiroshi kicked his friend up the stairs, "They don't want   
  
to HEAR about their naked legs!"   
  
Wising up, Daisuke muttered, "Geez! I'm lucky that's ALL   
  
that came out of my mouth." Glancing over his shoulder   
  
back at Ranma.   
  
Hiroshi groaned, "I know." He had found Ranma attractive   
  
before, but now her pull was threatening to raise   
  
something that his interest.   
  
She-Ranma, meanwhile, was trying not to look at their   
  
butts. (Pants did show them off better than dresses,   
  
didn't they? No, don't look!)  
  
She-Ranma climbed the stairs with her eyes lowered. She   
  
took her mind off of things that she shouldn't look at by   
  
looking at her bust. It brought back memories. But it was   
  
hard to understand why she had ever been hostile to what   
  
was underneath her shirt. Breasts, after all, were   
  
natural, given to women by the Heavens. Even the   
  
goddesses had them. They were the special marks of female   
  
maturity. And the size of hers certainly marked her as   
  
special. (Okay, she did understand a little why she   
  
disliked them. She didn't really want to be marked out   
  
for a reason like that.)   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Meanwhile Nabiki Tendou was following Kuno down the hall,   
  
"Kuno, I told you in the nurses office, and I'm telling   
  
you here, Kaneda had nothing to do with you being   
  
trampled."   
  
His wooden bokken in front of him, at the ready, the   
  
samurai boy told her, "Nay, Loyal Sister of my sworn   
  
nemesis. It is that knave's refusal to show his lord and   
  
upperclassman the proper respect that has planted the   
  
seed in others! I must go to the root of the problem and   
  
cut out the rot for the natural order to be righted!"   
  
Nabiki asked, "And you think the teacher is going to let   
  
you do that in his classroom?"   
  
"I stand for the order! I am certain the authorities will   
  
also be glad to be rid of that disturber of the civil   
  
peace!" Speaking of peace. There was undue talking in the   
  
stairwell and hallway. That, too, was against the rules,   
  
as the signs clearly told one and all.   
  
He tarried in his course. He would whet his blade on   
  
these malefactors, first. But, then, he saw among them   
  
the pigtailed girl, Ranma.   
  
His sword rose in his hands in front of him.   
  
Nabiki said scornfully, "Oh, isn't that "adult" imagery."   
  
But she, too, noticed a difference in Ranma-chan.   
  
Hiroshi said, "Kuno." He and Daisuke stopped, and the   
  
girls had to stop behind them. Ranma's wooden carp   
  
developed a battle aura.  
  
The tall, handsome idiot came loping towards them,   
  
"Ranma! My Flame-haired Venus who sets my heart ablaze!"   
  
Ranma stepped closer to Daisuke, wishing she could hide.   
  
"Upperclassman Kuno. What do you want?" Her training to   
  
fight crashed against her feelings that she shouldn't.  
  
Hiroshi asked, "Yes, what do you want?" He actually felt   
  
challenged to be a man.  
  
The pressure was making Daisuke sweat, "Kuno, do you mind   
  
not pointing that sword at me?"   
  
Kuno commanded them, "Out of my way, Lowborn   
  
Lowerclassmen, I will scale you if I must to reach the   
  
object of my pure heart's desire."   
  
Panic started setting in for the two ordinary guys.   
  
Suddenly Daisuke grabbed Kuno by a wrist and the hilt. He   
  
was as shocked as the noble.   
  
She-Ranma cried, "Oh, dear! What??"   
  
Sayuri and Yuka cried, "You idiots!!"   
  
Na said, "They're in it deep, now."  
  
Nabiki just stayed out of the way and studied what was   
  
going on.  
  
Kuno cried, "This is sacrilege! You dare to defile the   
  
sword of a samurai!!?!"   
  
Daisuke cried in desperation, "Hiroshi! He's going to get   
  
us BOTH if we don't get that sword away from him!!"   
  
Having heard the stories, Hiroshi cried, "*I'M* not   
  
touching a samurai's sword!" But he HAD to do something:   
  
He shoved! He shoved Kuno with all of his power. But Kuno   
  
was trained to remain on his feet. Hiroshi continued to   
  
shove. Kuno was shoved down the hall, as Daisuke   
  
desperately tried to keep his hold on the sword.   
  
Daisuke's foot got accidentally tangled with Kuno's.   
  
Kuno tripped. Hiroshi fell on top of his.   
  
And Daisuke had the sword.  
  
Kuno was in a rage, "Give me back my sword!! You must pay   
  
for this disgrace!!"   
  
Daisuke laughed hysterically, "I did it! I took away   
  
Kuno's sword!!! Ha, ha!! I beat the kendo master with   
  
just my hands—-Like Kaneda! Ha, ha!." And he ran down the   
  
hall with it.   
  
Kuno screamed, "KANEDA!! This IS his doing!!"  
  
Hiroshi felt Kuno was about to blow. He scrambled up to   
  
his feet, stepping on the angry samurai's head without   
  
thinking, and made a dash down the hall: "Daisuke, wait   
  
for me!! That's a two-handed sword: Let me have half of   
  
it!!"   
  
They had a head start, but Kuno was soon catching up,   
  
swinging his empty hands around as if they still held his   
  
cherished weapon, "I recognize you rebels, now!! You're   
  
part of Kaneda's faction!! Stop!! Stop, I command!! Face   
  
your ends like men!!"   
  
She-Ranma had watched all of this like the other   
  
witnesses, dumbfounded. From the time she'd spent with   
  
those boys, Hiroshi and Daisuke, this seemed out of   
  
character.   
  
Suddenly she felt a sudden drop in temperature at her   
  
left side. It was Sayuri. It was almost as if She-Ranma   
  
could sense the icicles. She-Ranma asked with big   
  
innocent eyes, "Sayuri?"   
  
The girl with the hair ribbon turned a cold shoulder to   
  
Ranma, and marched to class.   
  
Yuka asked, "Sayuri??" but there was a tug from the   
  
wooden carp and she remained by Ranma's side.   
  
She-Ranma truly wanted to know, "What was that about,   
  
Yuka?"   
  
Yuka said sadly, "I don't know." But Na got a trace of a   
  
smile.   
  
Nabiki volunteered an answer, "She blames you, Ranma.   
  
That girl thinks YOU'RE responsible for what just   
  
happened to her friends."   
  
It was Yuka that spoke up the most vehemently, "Ranma had   
  
nothing to do with it! She was just standing here!" She-  
  
Ranma felt the other girl start to heat up. She realized   
  
her Chi senses were now more sensitive...And they were   
  
attuned to different things than they were when she had   
  
thought of herself a boy.   
  
Nabiki informed them, "Ranma was standing BEHIND two guys   
  
who were definitely interested in her. If they backed   
  
down from ANOTHER guy, a guy she decidedly WASN'T   
  
interested in, they would have lost major guy points."   
  
Yuka was beginning to burn. But it was Na who spoke up,   
  
putting an arm around she-Ranma, "It's those guys OWN   
  
fault if they decide to go from idiots to jerks." The   
  
best she-Ranma could describe about what she was feeling   
  
from Na was hot ice.   
  
Yuka agreed, "Right! Don't make a victim out of Ranma,   
  
again: She's had that all of her life from her father."  
  
Nabiki eyed the carved wooden thing sticking out from   
  
behind she-Ranma's sash. Growing up in the Anything-Goes   
  
School, she had some ability to recognize Chi power. She   
  
said, "If you guys say so." And she coolly walked away.   
  
The fourth law of acquisition: Don't let them know you're   
  
too interested.  
  
The redhead had the urge to throw cold water on Nabiki   
  
again. But, no, that wouldn't be very lady-like.  
  
Na told she-Ranma as she walked the girl to class, her   
  
arm still around her shoulder, "Stay with me, and we'll   
  
rule this school." Of all the paths the more female Na   
  
could have taken, she now chose the opportunist.   
  
She-Ranma said, "But I don't want to rule anybody."   
  
Ranma, unlike Na, had limited ideas about what a girl   
  
could be like. And since "should" had been strong in her   
  
old life, that's the arrow she wanted to follow. She   
  
wanted to be what she'd been raised to think a girl   
  
SHOULD be like.  
  
Yuka went ahead to open the classroom door for them,   
  
"You've been ruled by your father all of your life. Maybe   
  
ruling somebody else will help you break away from his   
  
violent influence." Yuka had very few opinions of her   
  
own, but that sounded like the right thing to say at the   
  
moment.  
  
Na told her, "You HAVE to break away. That IS the reason   
  
for being a teenager."   
  
She-Ranma almost protested, "No, that's not right. A girl   
  
belongs to her family until she marries into another   
  
family. From father to husband."   
  
Yuka reminded her, "But RULED by her mother-in-law." Her   
  
own grandmother took full advantage of her one time of   
  
authority.  
  
Na said, "That's the OLD world. This is the NEW Old   
  
World. General McArthur has shown us the way. It was East   
  
vs. West and the West won!" And she gently pushed she-  
  
Ranma into 1-F ahead of her.   
  
Facing her class, she-Ranma felt weather fronts coming   
  
from the students. Most of the boys were warm, and   
  
getting warmer the more they looked at her. Some of the   
  
girls were cool. Ranma realized she wasn't sensing sexual   
  
temperatures, for while many of the girls were getting   
  
chillier towards her, others were warming up to her. Like   
  
Yuka. This warmth was different from the boys'. The boys'   
  
heat was penetrating, threatening to dry her soul. But   
  
the heat from the girls was enveloping, like a toasty   
  
blanket on a cold morning.   
  
Na, on the other hand, was all of the above, "I wish I   
  
could sit near you, Ranma. But I'll be here for you."   
  
Yuka took she-Ranma by the hand and led her, "I'm near   
  
you, Ranma."   
  
Moving among the class, she-Ranma could feel the cross-  
  
currents she and little brother was stirring up. She hung   
  
her head in guilt. There was going to be a storm.   
  
Mr. Ando entered the room, "I misplaced my lesson plan,   
  
Class." The sociology teacher was one of the youngest at   
  
the school. Because he had dreams of moving up into   
  
higher education, he was always thinking about other   
  
subjects than what he was supposed to. He would often   
  
veer off his course and talk of things that didn't really   
  
seem to have anything to do with the topic.  
  
He went immediately to the greenboard, turning his back   
  
on the class, and started going into trends. Like how the   
  
Japanese were beginning to prefer the certainties of pre-  
  
arranged marriages to the uncertainties of dating.   
  
As the teacher talked, she-Ranma felt the room grow   
  
hotter. And colder. Her heightened Chi sense actually had   
  
her feeling the darting glances, the lingering stares,   
  
and the frosty glares that came her way. She could even   
  
'hear' heads turn. It made her feel very uncomfortable in   
  
her seat. It was hard to act like a lady and not fidget.   
  
She put her feet and hands together, and sat up straight.   
  
She wished she could draw in her breasts, make them stick   
  
out less. She smiled, Kasumi-like, to hide her true   
  
feelings.  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, the energy within the wooden carp was   
  
responding to the surrounding currents, too. When most of   
  
Ranma's maleness had been reversed, it had expelled the   
  
strong male energy he already had. What Kaneda hadn't   
  
absorbed was now instinctively trying to protect. That   
  
was Ranma's nature.  
  
And the yang was MOST attuned to she-Ranma's yin.  
  
Without a body of its own, the aura that was little   
  
brother reached out to the surrounding auras. The guys   
  
felt pushed to watch out for the weak and defenseless   
  
Ranma, "or else".   
  
Only they didn't understand where this feeling towards   
  
the girl was coming from. If they were going to respond   
  
to a challenge, they preferred to think the idea of   
  
protecting this very attractive girl was their own. And   
  
since they thought better to take advantage of the cute   
  
and busty girl, they wanted to get credit. They might   
  
sense she had another guy in her life, but HE wasn't   
  
where they could see him. This was their chance to win   
  
points with her before he came back.   
  
Such were their thoughts.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
  
  
Hiroshi and Daisuke ran into the room. Hiroshi had Kuno's   
  
bokken now. Both she-Ranma and Sayuri ran to them, "Are   
  
you alright!?!" they both said at once.   
  
Hiroshi said while catching his breath, "We're, smarter   
  
than, Kuno. We, lost him."   
  
Daisuke was also panting, "But he, kept finding us."   
  
Sayuri said, "I'm glad to see you're not hurt." She   
  
turned her icy stare at yon-Ranma, "No thanks to you."   
  
She-Ranma bowed her head, "Yes. Perhaps you are right. It   
  
was I Upperclassman Kuno approached." She would ask   
  
Upperclassman Kuno to forgive her friends. But she could   
  
only apologize to them. Hiroshi and Daisuke's male pride   
  
would surely be offended if they knew her plan.   
  
Hiroshi got his wind back, "Don't blame yourself, Ranma.   
  
It was that jerk Kuno's fault!"   
  
Daisuke said, "Yeah! Kuno's always causing trouble. It   
  
was about time somebody besides Kaneda stood up to him."   
  
He almost volunteered to attack the samurai again.   
  
She-Ranma said, "Kaneda?" Kaneda DID do that, didn't he?   
  
If anybody could keep Kuno from bothering ---But no. She   
  
couldn't honestly look to him, or anybody else for that   
  
kind of help. She didn't believe in violence any more.   
  
She had had a lifetime of it, and what had it brought   
  
her?   
  
Hiroshi saw the reaction Kaneda's name got from Ranma. He   
  
was jealous. Before he knew what he was doing, he had   
  
raised the wooden sword and struck a pose, "For you,   
  
Ranma, I shall make sure Kuno doesn't bother you again!"   
  
What did he think he WAS!?!! A knight, and Ranma was his   
  
damsel!? That was ridiculous!   
  
Daisuke tried to take the weapon away from him, "I can do   
  
it better than you can!"   
  
Hiroshi wouldn't let go, "You already tried to use it on   
  
him! We've got to hide it where--"   
  
Kuno appeared at the door, "AS I surmised! The   
  
unprincipled allies of that knave, Kaneda Tendou,   
  
returned to their vipers nest! Return my ancestral   
  
property!!"   
  
Panicking, Hiroshi and Daisuke BOTH swung the two-handed   
  
weapon at the samurai. Even with the threat of an   
  
imaginary sword, Kuno was able to force them to back up.   
  
The two raw fighters were entirely on the defensive as   
  
the other students got out of their seats to allow them   
  
room as they stumbled, bumped, and tip over the desks to   
  
make room for their "Strategic retreat".  
  
Sayuri yelled at she-Ranma, "Why don't you DO   
  
something!?! You're the martial artist!"   
  
Ranma looked worried, "Oh, dear! I do suppose I should.   
  
You don't think they will be offended. Fighting IS for   
  
guys. I wouldn't want them to think--"   
  
Ranma's yang kicked butts: In a chain reaction, first   
  
one, then another of the guys told her, "Don't worry,   
  
*I'll* do it! We don't want you to get hurt." Their   
  
battle auras were joined together in a common cause.  
  
Gathering into clumps, the girls of the class watched as   
  
guys they'd known since at LEAST junior high school   
  
suddenly start fighting for a girl rather than OVER a   
  
girl, piling on Kuno.   
  
But whether he had one or two guys holding onto a limb,   
  
the samurai warrior refused to be pulled down. He fought   
  
on, yelling his battle cry.   
  
Meanwhile, others had joined in the struggle with Hiroshi   
  
and Daisuke for control of the wooden sword.   
  
Soon there wasn't a seat that was where it was supposed   
  
to be. And the girls who weren't watching the show of   
  
machoness, were now escaping out of the room.  
  
Mr. Ando, meanwhile, was at his desk, busy making notes   
  
on this case study of group dynamic.  
  
Na hustled she-Ranma to the door, "Come on, girlfriend.   
  
School is over."   
  
Ranma wasn't sure, "But, but the boys! If there's   
  
something I can do--"   
  
Na told her, "The best thing you can do for them is   
  
leave! They were already in trouble ONCE today because of   
  
you."   
  
Yuka said, "Oh, yes! Principal Hinako may have forgiven   
  
you, but that was before she thought you had changed."   
  
She-Ranma said, "But I DID change. Why does trouble have   
  
to follow me?"   
  
They just missed Principal Hinako.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Outside, she-Ranma was still in Na's grip, "I really   
  
don't think we should leave the school grounds."   
  
Na told her, "If we don't, we'll just end up in   
  
detention. Believe me. I know about detention."   
  
Yuka asked, "Won't we get in detention, anyway, for   
  
leaving the campus?"   
  
Na told her, "Well, ordinarily, I'd say there was safety   
  
in numbers. You know: Hope we get lost in a crowd and get   
  
no worse than everybody else. But..." she studied the   
  
fretful redhead in black Chinese silk 'pajamas', "I think   
  
this time it'd be better if the teachers and especially   
  
the Principal, can SEE that Ranma has reformed. Authority   
  
figures LOVE that sort of thing."   
  
Yuka brightened, "You mean shopping?!"   
  
She-Ranma raised her head, "Shopping? What kind of   
  
shopping?"  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
She-Ranma looked at the scarves of all sorts she had in   
  
her hand, and those that were still in one particular   
  
garbage bag in the alley, "These are going to show   
  
everybody I want to be a girl?"   
  
Na told her, "Nah, I use these when I want to skip   
  
school. Even perverts leave scarves alone."   
  
Yuka watched her get out of her Furinkan uniform, "Er,   
  
Na, I don't have gym clothes under MY dress." Na lending   
  
Ranma-chan her extra gym clothes had been how she had   
  
introduced herself.  
  
Na got a couple of the heavier pieces of cloth and   
  
started pinning them around her, "I have gym clothes on,   
  
because people know gym classes CAN leave the school. By   
  
the time they realize I'm not with the rest of the class,   
  
I'm gone.  
  
"But all you have to do is COVER the uniform with the   
  
scarves. Of course, it'd be easier if you got down to   
  
your slip."   
  
Yuka blushed at the suggestion. Na said, "No, I didn't   
  
think you could do that. What have you got under those   
  
clothes of yours, Ranma?"   
  
She-Ranma blushed for another reason, "B, boy's---Oh, no!   
  
I just can't say it! Suddenly, it seems so perverted."   
  
Even Yuka looked at her with a sweatdrop. "That's all   
  
right. Your father wouldn't LET you have panties."   
  
Na said, "Or a bra. Obviously. Well, there's one way to   
  
help you feel like you're not daddy's little boy." And   
  
she yanked Ranma's pants down, boxers included.   
  
She-Ranma cried, "What are you DOING!!?!" pulling down   
  
the front of her black, silk shirt (which caused the back   
  
to raise).   
  
Na took the white sash from around the black, silk pants   
  
and tied it around she-Ranma's waist, "Yes. It LOOKED   
  
like you were wearing a baggy man's shirt. It's long   
  
enough on you to make a sexy, little black dress."   
  
Yuka said, "Just be careful not to do any bending."   
  
Still pulling at the hem, the red-faced she-Ranma said,   
  
"But I don't have anything on underneath!"   
  
Na quirked a smile, "I have bloomers on. Do you want to   
  
borrow my panties?"   
  
She-Ranma was confused, "Girls do that??"   
  
Yuka wrinkled her nose, "Ew! Don't even joke about it,   
  
Na!"  
  
Na picked out one of the scarves she-Ranma still had in   
  
her hand, "Pin this on. Believe me, it'll give you as   
  
much protection as a lot of the panties I see in the   
  
locker room. And it's not lacy."   
  
Yuka said, "Aw! I like lacy lingerie."   
  
Folding the scarf into a triangle, Na reminded her, "It's   
  
just until we can get Ranma REAL panties."   
  
Yuka asked Ranma, "Do YOU like lacy lingerie?"   
  
She-Ranma said, "I, I never thought about it before.   
  
Ever." She quickly put the fetish back under her sash. It   
  
had become a side-weapon again in her mind.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
They had left Nerima, and were walking in the nearest   
  
business district with multi-story buildings. Talk about   
  
getting looked at before. And it wasn't because of the   
  
colorful costumes Na and Yuka had made of the scarves.   
  
She-Ranma's Chi-enhanced senses could feel those aimed at   
  
her breasts. She should not have let Na unbutton the top   
  
of her shirt.   
  
But she was convinced most of them were grazing over her   
  
shapely legs (trying to get under the hem of her shirt).   
  
She WAS glad she was wearing something underneath. But   
  
while it wasn't right for a lady to wear boxers, she   
  
WASN'T sure wearing a pinned, silk scarf was any more   
  
proper. "It feels like I'm wearing a diaper," she   
  
muttered.   
  
Na asked, "Oh? You've worn a diaper lately?"   
  
She-Ranma said, "No. It, it's just the way I, imagine one   
  
of them feels like." Her female, round buttocks already   
  
took up more of her body awareness than her male, flat   
  
butt did.  
  
Na said, "Then use your imagination and think of it as   
  
the latest fashion in sexy lingerie. "Victoria's Little   
  
Secret"."   
  
Yuka said, "Since Ranma is used to wearing men's   
  
underwear, maybe if we get her a larger scarf, she can   
  
make herself a loincloth. Er, only not so long in front."   
  
She-Ranma said, "Oh, dear, no! When we get to the   
  
department store, let's go straight to where they have   
  
the girls' underwear. I want to feel like a normal girl   
  
as soon as I can."   
  
They really didn't notice the open, hole-in-the-wall   
  
pachinko parlor they passed. And inside, he-Kaneda   
  
wouldn't have noticed them if he had had more practice at   
  
playing the pinball-like game. He HAD thought it would've   
  
been a good way to waste his time with the little money   
  
he had. HE could even have won something. But his teenage   
  
hormones did not allow him the peace to win. So it was he   
  
wasn't distracted when his Chi-enhanced senses told them   
  
something of interest was passing by.   
  
Going out to the street he saw that something was Ranma   
  
and her friends. Again he felt it was wrong that she was   
  
with somebody else, even girls. He followed them.   
  
The great thing about the Furinkan boys' spring uniform,   
  
it was just a pair of gray slacks and white shirt. It   
  
looked no more like a uniform than the hundreds of other   
  
young office workers in the area.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
He-Kaneda lost them at the elevators. But he hustled and   
  
raced up the stairs. It wasn't until the fourth floor   
  
that he saw them again. He then stalked them, trying not   
  
to think he was a lone guy surrounded by women's apparel.   
  
But he could go no further than the post that to him   
  
marked the boundary line of the lingerie section. With   
  
his heightened maleness, lingerie should have only meant   
  
getting lucky. A chance to feed his fantasies. But   
  
thinking of all the panties and bras his sister Kasumi   
  
had made sure he had worn challenged his right to be   
  
called a real man. Either way, being around delicates was   
  
making him feel like a pervert. Of both kinds.   
  
A saleswoman asked, "Can I do something for you, sir?"   
  
Startled, He-Kaneda spun around. His fist hit the faux   
  
marble post and broke a chunk out of it. Regaining his   
  
composure as best he could, he coughed, and stammered in   
  
a loud voice, "YES! I, I'm here to-oo buy, buy panties,   
  
bras for me--my GIRLFRIEND! Wife, I mean!!" He was lucky   
  
he hadn't said "sister" because he had been thinking of   
  
Kasumi. She was the one who shopped it in their family.   
  
Thinking about his own time in girls' clothes had   
  
confused him about whether guys DID that sort at all.   
  
The woman looked him up and down, "And what size does she   
  
wear?"   
  
He-Kaneda froze. "Size?" Aw, Geez!! He didn't even   
  
remember his own bra size, let alone-- "HER size!" he   
  
said pointing.  
  
"Whose?"   
  
He pointed around the post at the redhead going into a   
  
dressing room, "My girlfriend, I mean my wife, is the   
  
same size as her! Exactly the same size!"   
  
"Do you want me to ask her what her size is?"   
  
"No!! Can't you tell just by looking!?!"   
  
"Why don't we go ask her? Perhaps if she tells us, I   
  
won't have to call store security."   
  
"Security, hunh?" It took a moment, but Kaneda ran.   
  
The saleswoman called out, "We have security cameras, you   
  
know!!"   
  
Thinking they'd be waiting for him at the exits he ran up   
  
the up escalator.   
  
There was still the matter of cameras. There was only one   
  
place he thought might not have cameras. Only it meant--  
  
No!! He wasn't going to do it. He was a guy, damn it!   
  
He'd rather get arrested than have to be a girl. YES: He   
  
WOULD take it like a man!  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
With the dressing room curtain open, Na and Yuka stood on   
  
either side, acting as screens. Ranma's modesty was   
  
invaded with each clasp, slide and tug. Girls, it seemed,   
  
were very free with their hands it came to other girls.   
  
Na asked the cute girl in just a panties and bra, "How   
  
does it fit, Ranma?"   
  
The embarrassed Ranma had no idea how to test for fit,   
  
other than, "It feels okay, I guess." It was lacy and   
  
purple with a little red bow. The panties were part of   
  
the set. They were something she had not even conceived   
  
of wearing before.  
  
Yuka said, "Fit isn't important! This is Ranma's FIRST   
  
bra! It should make her feel pretty!"   
  
Ranma put her hands around back, "Having a tight band of   
  
elastic go around your upper body is supposed to make you   
  
feel pretty? Not to mention the shoulder straps."   
  
Na said, "If it's too tight, it doesn't fit right." Ranma   
  
was filling the cups as well.  
  
Yuka told her, "You're just not used to wearing a bra,   
  
Ranma."   
  
Na said, "Then you shouldn't have picked out an underwire   
  
bra for. Ranma doesn't NEED any support!" It was almost   
  
unnatural for a girl to be that firm.  
  
Yuka said, "Whenever it starts to bother you, do as I do,   
  
Ranma." And she recited her aphorism, "I feel this way   
  
because I'm a WOMAN, and a woman is meant to be pretty! I   
  
am wearing something pretty, so that makes ME, a woman,   
  
pretty!"   
  
Na was not impressed, "With that kind of logic, why don't   
  
you get a body-shaper and have something that will REALLY   
  
remind you just how "pretty" you can be."   
  
---Suddenly something came crashing through the   
  
ceiling!!!  
  
Among the pieces of concrete, wood, acoustic tiles, air   
  
duct, and a rusted pipe of hot water was a soggy,   
  
longhaired girl in a Furinkan school uniform.   
  
The nearly naked pigtailed girl recognized her, "Akane!!"   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
A few minutes earlier Kaneda had been waiting for   
  
security to come for him when he realized, "Wait! What am   
  
I going to be arrested for!? Lurking around the lingerie   
  
section, waiting to see girls in their underwear (or   
  
naked!) --stalking!?! "What kind of a MAN is that!? If   
  
I'm going to HAVE a reputation as a man, I'm going to   
  
have to escape. And hope they don't check to see who I   
  
was." Reputation was everything to a martial artist. It   
  
could be used to avoid fights as well as start them.  
  
But there WAS no bathroom on the fifth floor! This floor   
  
didn't even rate acoustic tiles. The pipes and air ducts   
  
were exposed.   
  
There was his escape route! The cameras probably weren't   
  
pointed up THERE!  
  
He leaped up and grabbed hold of one of the pipes.   
  
But this floor hadn't even rated a building inspection. A   
  
metal strap holding the hot water pipe to the ceiling   
  
broke. Water came pour out, soaking the parched wood   
  
floor underneath. As Kaneda reached for an air duct, the   
  
section of rusted pipe broke off, and crashed through the   
  
floor, taking he followed. Only his martial arts skills   
  
kept him, now her, from being badly hurt.   
  
The only damage to him was Kaneda's reputation as a   
  
man...to Ranma.   
  
The End of the chapter. 


	23. 23: In the Eye of the Beholder

Ranma & Kaneda  
  
By Ron Dow75  
  
  
  
Week One: Tuesday  
  
She-Ranma, Day One  
  
Ch. 23: In The Eye of the Beholder   
  
Part of the ceiling had just fallen near them in the lingerie department.   
  
It took a moment for the surprised Yuka react. She screamed. What if   
  
the wreckage had been even CLOSER?! As it was, everybody was covered   
  
in mostly dusty debris.  
  
While among the wreckage was a drenched, but familiar stranger in a   
  
Furinkan high girls' uniform yelled back, "What's YOUR problem!? It's   
  
not like YOU were hurt!!" Physically, though, the martial artist was   
  
nearly fine. What really hurt was the girl's OWN intensified male pride.   
  
She lashed out, striking the stream of hot water from the broken pipe   
  
falling on her skirt.   
  
She-Ranma, at least, recognized the girl with the long, black hair,   
  
"Akane!" She ran from the department store's dressing room, crying,   
  
"Akane--EENKKH!" She was stopped by a surprise: A wedgie no guy   
  
could experience!   
  
Na had grabbed hold of the back of Ranma's panties and bra. Though   
  
they both had a film of dust on them, she reminded the still half dressed   
  
redhead about, "The store's security cameras!"   
  
Ranma leaned forward, "But Akane!?" The unfamiliar hurts were easy for   
  
a martial artist like her to ignore.  
  
The tall girl said, "She looks okay. You don't!" She used some simple   
  
jujitsu to swing Ranma back into the dressing room, "It can be fun   
  
flashing, but cameras make the moment last too long." Na blushed   
  
slightly. The idea was no longer as amusing to her as it was a couple of   
  
hours ago. It wasn't just to Ranma-chan she was advising, "You have to   
  
start thinking like other girls!" There were a couple of creep ex-  
  
boyfriends out there that had more than just their memories to fuel   
  
their jollies off of her.  
  
Na blocked the doorway, "Security is going to be here. If you don't mind   
  
them seeing you in underwear, do you mind them seeing you wet?"   
  
Ranma frowned, "For the past three weeks, it seems I'm always wet." But   
  
that's when she was straightening the panties.   
  
She reddened deeply, and yanked the dressing room curtain closed!   
  
Na nodded, satisfied. "Now we don't have to pay for them. The store   
  
OWES you! Yuka, too, maybe."   
  
Na went over to the other debris-covered teen, "We have a nice insurance   
  
claim, here. Pick what you want, and the store will give it to you."   
  
On her feet, he-Akane glared at the other girl who looked like she was   
  
wearing only colored scarves for a dress, "I didn't come here for   
  
shopping. The only thing I'm interested in is getting OUT of here."   
  
Na looked at the three men in business suits and the female salesclerk   
  
behind them coming their way, "Too late. Leave everything to me,   
  
Akane."   
  
He-Akane was frustrated: Ranma had blurted out her name! So much   
  
for remaining unknown.   
  
Na grabbed he-Akane's wrist, and pulled her along. Since the girl wasn't   
  
going to stay down and play the wounded bird, Na had to do the next   
  
best thing. Lifting the girl's skirt, she confronted the store personnel   
  
with a peek at Akane's legs, "Look at the bruises and cuts! And   
  
what about the REST of her body! Take us to the camera department, so   
  
we can document her injuries for the law suit!"   
  
Angrily, he-Akane pulled her skirt down, "I SAID I don't want anything   
  
but OUT!" Her impulse was to fight her way past everybody. And she just   
  
might have to. Any disturbance would draw all of the store police, and   
  
anybody else that was hungry for some action. Then she would never   
  
escape having her picture posted, here and in the police kiosks.  
  
Na told the store personnel, "See!!? Is THAT normal?! Acchan used to be   
  
such a sweet girl!"   
  
That hit a nerve. He-Akane yelled, "I was NEVER a sweet girl!!"   
  
Na turned to the gathering customers, "Poor, Acchan!! Because the store   
  
wasn't interested in safety, my friend will have to have brain SURGERY!"   
  
She made sure the bystanders heard at LEAST the last word.  
  
He-Akane groaned. This girl was trying to be like Nabiki.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Yuka 'knocked' then parted the dressing room curtain, "Ranma-chan?"   
  
From the other side she-Ranma mumbled, "Guys don't have the pee   
  
problems girls do."  
  
Yuka asked, "They don't? How do you know--Your DAD!?" But then she   
  
thought that sounded TOO naïve. "Well, you were on the road together.   
  
And traditionally, Japanese men and   
  
women weren't very modest, and--" She threw back the curtain, "He   
  
STILL doesn't do it in front of you NOW, does he!?!!" So much for the   
  
brunette sounding sophisticated.  
  
What she saw was she-Ranma buttoning up her dirtied, black, silk   
  
Chinese men's shirt over the baby blue bra she had been trying on.   
  
When She-Ranma noticed that Yuka noticed the flowery, cotton panties   
  
on the floor, she blushed. But she left the dressing room, "Akane's still   
  
here, isn't she?"   
  
Yuka looked over at the clump of mostly adults. One girl in the Furinkan   
  
uniform stood out like a dirty, half-drowned cat. Suddenly, something   
  
stirred in her memory, "A wet girl...a wet girl..."   
  
She-Ranma realized that Akane had had her secret since she was born.   
  
Somehow, nobody outside her family knew it. But her friends and   
  
neighbors HAD to have seen her around. After 16 years, they had to ask   
  
themselves where unknown girl came from and where she went to. They   
  
had to at LEAST wonder why she was wet so often. Ranma was honor   
  
bound to steer them away from the truth. Without lying.  
  
"Akane?!? Did I say Akane? *Ha, ha!* I guess I did. But she's not a Ten--  
  
No: She's a Saotome. --Like me! *Ha, ha; ha, ha!*" You'd think with a   
  
pop like hers Ranma would've learned to cover up better by now.   
  
Yuka asked, " "Akane Saotome"? I've heard that name before."  
  
Great! Now Ranma had to do something to distract her from her   
  
curiosity. The uncertain she-Ranma actually found herself giggle.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
What testosterone she still had as a girl rising, he-Akane was struggling   
  
to keep from adopting a martial arts stance as she argued with the Chief   
  
of Security, now, "I TOLD these other guys, I just want to leave!"   
  
The man who was as big as a sumo wrestler said, " "Leave", hunh?   
  
Perhaps the damage to the store ISN'T an accident. Come to the office.   
  
Let's review the security tapes more closely."  
  
Security tapes!! What if they showed the change!!? Now He-Akane HAD   
  
to escape!   
  
"Akane!!" she-Ranma cried, glomping the damp girl around her waist,   
  
leaning head on her shoulder while pressing her breasts to her   
  
shoulders.  
  
It was there! It wasn't a charge, but Akane did make she-Ranma glow in   
  
places that had never been stimulated before.   
  
But it made he-Akane crazy! "What do you think you're doing," she said   
  
through clenched teeth. "I'm a girl." He-Akane had a much more   
  
complex reaction. Without the contrast of male skin, muscle and shape,   
  
she couldn't fully enjoy the feel of a girl's body, even Ranma-chan's. In   
  
fact, her enhanced male spirit resented her not being a guy for the   
  
cutie.   
  
And then there was male spirit she sensed in Ranma's wooden carp.  
  
She-Ranma now wondered if she'd done the right thing, "Don't girls   
  
don't do this with girls?"  
  
"Na!" Yuka giggled, glomping onto the other girl as Ranma was doing to   
  
Akane. To her, though, it was just a game.   
  
She-Ranma was relieved, "Girls are different from guys."  
  
Glancing about at the audience as she pried she-Ranma from her, she-  
  
Akane said, "Not this, uh, one."  
  
Na had less trouble getting Yuka away, "Me, neither! In case you haven't   
  
noticed, Nerima is not a touchy-feely place."  
  
She-Ranma hadn't noticed, being a new girl in a new town. A very new   
  
girl.   
  
Yuka grinned, "And Japan used to frown on a lot of things."   
  
The large chief of security said, "We still frown on property damage and   
  
extortion."  
  
One of his men said, "I recognize the tall one with the spiky hair, now,   
  
sir. I caught her shoplifting!" Na's emotions betrayed her for only a   
  
second. Being more girl now, meant she was more fluid emotionally.   
  
The Chief glared at the girls, "Shall we wait for the police?"  
  
They were in trouble? Was there something Ranma could do to help   
  
without fighting? She remembered what her father had said about police   
  
and why they keep away from them. "The police are for girls. And I'm a   
  
girl." Store police should like an honest answer.  
  
Yuka was nearly as naïve, "They'll sort things out!"   
  
Na had recovered control over her expression, "Doesn't your dad have a   
  
law firm working for him, Yuka?"  
  
"Yes, but--"  
  
Na hurried forward, "Of course, they'll want to call in a building   
  
inspector..."  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
A blur? That was all the stop-action security camera captured of Kaneda-  
  
Akane. The top floor of the department store had low priority.   
  
He-Akane asked the guard in the small monitoring room, "Can you let   
  
me GO, now?"   
  
Concerned, she-Ranma said, "Maybe you should go. Yuka--" What could   
  
she say that wouldn't sound suspicious to the guard? "...Well, maybe   
  
Kaneda shouldn't show up, either."  
  
He-Akane heard it another way. Her manhood HAD been compromised   
  
in Ranma's eyes! What could he expect when his fiancée saw him in a   
  
dress? And a school uniform, too! It was notoriously a guy's fantasy   
  
costume. At least it wasn't a fuku/sailor suit. That would have been TOO   
  
much!  
  
He-Akane could just imagine what Ranma thinking. Ranma had the   
  
same curse, but was different when a girl was a crossdresser!   
  
The security guard inside the small monitoring room raised an eyebrow   
  
at the scene, but only said, "I'll need to see some ID."  
  
He-Akane snapped, "Does this stupid dress LOOK like it has a place to   
  
carry anything?!"   
  
With a glance to her bust, the guard said, "Then you'll have to give me   
  
your phone numbers. You DO have relatives, don't you?"   
  
He-Akane came closer to using her martial arts. Her dad would NEVER   
  
acknowledge SHE was his kid! --And he'd had 16 years to do it!  
  
Wanting to be helpful, Ranma volunteered, "Uh, my father and I have   
  
been in situations like this before." Too many times. "Perhaps if I talk to   
  
the man?"  
  
He-Akane watched his fiancée go over to the young guard (perhaps   
  
young enough not to be married, yet!). Ranma-chan put her wrists and   
  
knees together, and batted her eyelashes, "We just came in here to buy   
  
me underthings." Weakened by stress and uncertainty, she-Ranma's   
  
mind yielded to her female brain. The male resistance that could have   
  
opposed it was mostly trapped in the wooden carp.   
  
Her words had the effect on the man the flirt of the spring liked to see.  
  
He-Akane screamed, "That's what you learned from your father!?!"  
  
Ranma stopped and blinked. "Well, uh, he would if he could." She-  
  
Ranma was back, only vaguely aware of what had happened.   
  
Na appeared in the doorway, "Everything's okay. Yuka's ID is enough:   
  
Her dad's got money! They can get to us through her."   
  
He-Akane headed towards her, "Then I'm leaving."   
  
Na held out her hands, "Whoa! Don't you want the free stuff! We're   
  
entitled to comps: Complementary compensation!"  
  
"I have more girls' stuff than I care to have!"   
  
The guard said, "I don't think you WILL be getting anything from this   
  
store. Not unless you can give us ID that proves you don't have any   
  
priors."  
  
She-Ranma pulled out her the hem of her shirt, "C, can I have just,   
  
one?"  
  
The man glanced from her action to the bank of monitoring screens,   
  
"Maybe we CAN help you there."  
  
He-Akane cried, "You want to PEEP at Ranma!!" Before she knew what   
  
she was doing, her fist had smashed though the screen the pervert had   
  
been looking at: Ta-BOOM!  
  
Na yelled, "RUN!!"   
  
Without thinking, again, he-Akane scooped up Ranma in her arms and   
  
fled. Acting on instinct, the guard chased after them. Na entered the   
  
now empty monitoring room.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
He-Akane cursed, "Stupid...Stupid...Stupid!" Carrying Ranma-chan was   
  
not really a problem. Upper body strength was the Tendo specialty. What   
  
she NEEDED was lower body strength. Her legs were shorter as a girl.   
  
And that guard's legs WERE long. And there were more behind him. Her   
  
best chance was to get out to the store area and create an obstacle   
  
course.   
  
She-Ranma said, "We shouldn't run, Akane. You only broke a TV. You're   
  
not responsible for bringing down the roof."  
  
"This is about reputation!" They were coming to the short hall that went   
  
to where the customers were.   
  
She-Ranma told her, "By running, we look LIII--" He-Akane tossed the   
  
redhead. In the next instance, she tripped the first guard and shoved   
  
him forward.   
  
As the man landed stomach first, he-Akane ran over him. She caught   
  
Ranma-chan in her arms again. "I knew you would use your mid-air   
  
training!"   
  
Ranma winced as four more men in suits trampled the first guard.   
  
"Please, Akane, you're making things worse!"  
  
Akane growled, trying to find a justification for her rash act, "I'm   
  
MAKING a reputation! Think of the publicity when we escape!" Great,   
  
she was thinking like Nabiki!   
  
Of course they didn't know that the reason Soun was against publicity   
  
was the reputation ANOTHER martial artist had built up, with Soun and   
  
Genma as his accomplices. It was soon after her last great idea was shot   
  
down that Nabiki had decided to go into a business where publicity   
  
might not be such a good idea.   
  
Perhaps he-Akane was following in her dad's footsteps more than she   
  
knew.  
  
Dodging customers, he-Akane kicked and backed as many racks and   
  
shelves as could to block the way behind them  
  
She-Ranma pointed, "The security cameras!"   
  
He-Akane told her, "Once we get out of here, we can have the home   
  
advantage! Let Nabiki, dad, or Mr. Saotome explain things! You said your   
  
dad was good at--"   
  
She-Ranma was pulling at the hem of her black, Chinese shirt, "I don't   
  
have any panties on!" Only then did he-Akane notice how red with   
  
embarrassment she'd become.   
  
That was enough to keep away the perverted thoughts that wanted to   
  
bubble up.  
  
Looking about, he-Akane said, "I see some! But you're going to have to   
  
kick that plastic dummy down the escalator!"   
  
She-Ranma was conflicted, "Do I have to? It seems so--"  
  
He-Akane swung Ranma-chan's feet around and used them to do just   
  
that.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
After the guards had run halfway down the escalator, they saw that the   
  
girl in the blue dress was just a mannequin.   
  
"Turn around!! They must have used this trick to take the stairs UP!"  
  
The stairs had taken the first of them to the bottom before they could   
  
run up the down escalator. The guy now in the back yelled, "Get moving!   
  
They could be heading to the third floor by now!!"  
  
They scrambled off at the top and ran around to the other escalator   
  
without noticing the two girls crouching among the racks of clothes.   
  
She-Ranma was concerned, "Is this really necessary?"   
  
He-Akane frowned, setting her jaw, "It all started because they wanted to   
  
tape you undressing. You can't trust guys like that." Listen to her! As if   
  
she wouldn't want to. But Ranma-chan was HERS! That made it   
  
different. They WERE, after all, engaged--practically a married couple!  
  
Naïve she-Ranma smiled, "Okay, what do we do now?"  
  
Still crouching, he-Akane motioned her to follow her, "We get you some,   
  
uh, underwear."  
  
She-Ranma whispered, "I, uh, have a, um, bra." He-Akane wondered   
  
why the word made her shy. She wasn't that way with that creep,   
  
peeping guard.   
  
She-Ranma looked at the things around them. They all had pictures of   
  
cartoons on them. "These are little girls' things!" And that wasn't the   
  
only thing that made her think they were in the wrong place.  
  
He-Akane told her, "No. I've seen underwear just like these in Kasumi's   
  
laundry basket." Kasumi bought them just because she thought they   
  
were cute. But Nabiki had worn them. It was part of her Don't-Give-  
  
Them-What-They-Expect Strategy.   
  
She-Ranma looked at the pink tops with sparkles and a very simple,   
  
cartoonish character straight from children's TV, and read,   
  
" "Hello, Kitty"?" Brr!  
  
He-Akane picked the first pair she didn't hate, "Here, I think these will   
  
fit you." They were black, high-cut, with the head and paws of the cute,   
  
white doodle-kitty without a mouth surrounded by a heart of flowers.   
  
She-Ranma held it for a moment, "Isn't there any other characters?   
  
One's that not, uh, cat?"   
  
He-Akane motioned her to stay down, "A saleswoman!" The girl in the   
  
Furinkan uniform then stood up, "Excuse me!" She said to the startled   
  
woman in the store uniform. "Do you have any courtesy tea?"  
  
"Tea?" The strange girl looked like a dirty street person with uncombed   
  
hair, and scratched face, and wrinkled clothes. But the clerk HAD heard   
  
about the only excitement the store had had in months. If she kept this   
  
teenager busy, it would give security time to discover her. She bowed,   
  
"Er, no. But I can offer you some bottled water at my station."   
  
Perfect, he-Akane thought.  
  
When they got to the three-sided counter, before saleswoman had a   
  
chance to press a security button, he-Akane pointed, "I see him in an ad   
  
for Sapporo Beer! What's that American actor's name?..." It helped that   
  
there really WAS a foreigner to see.   
  
While the woman looked, he-Akane ducked and squirted the bottled   
  
water on herself. By the time the salesclerk had turned back around,   
  
she saw a red haired, teenage boy in his school uniform rise behind her   
  
station.   
  
"What happened to the girl?!"   
  
Kaneda said, "There was a girl who just ran that way!"   
  
The women returned to the excitement of looking for the troublemakers.   
  
But Kaneda knew that there would be another salesclerk soon. There   
  
always were in these stores. "Ranma!"  
  
She-Ranma stood up. She thought she had wanted panties, but the first   
  
ones she was actually wearing in public were making her feel   
  
uncomfortable. But that was ridiculous. It wasn't like "Hello, Kitty" was   
  
really a--  
  
He-Kaneda placed something red around her shoulders. She asked,   
  
"What's this?"   
  
Kaneda said, "A riding hood, I think. It's your disguise. Your dirty,   
  
Chinese shirt stands out." It, too, had the white kitten on it near her   
  
heart.   
  
Ranma asked, "Are we going to pay for it?"   
  
"How were you going to pay for the stuff you were going to get here?"  
  
"Yuka was going to loan me the money. Her dad's got money."  
  
Tying the cloak on her, he-Kaneda smiled, "Then that's how we'll pay for   
  
this." He lost his smile, and muttered, "And probably for the other   
  
things, too." As if the family could afford any more debt.   
  
She-Ranma gave in. Pop had done similar things when they had to   
  
escape from one of his fiascos. And now she was doing it for Kaneda. As   
  
with her pop, it made her feel bad and attached at the same time. She   
  
could see her father in him. And didn't a girl want to marry somebody   
  
who reminded her of her father?   
  
She raised the hood over her red hair. She didn't see the red bow, and   
  
white kitten ears sewn on it.  
  
He-Kaneda led she-Ranma by the hand out of the anime merchandise   
  
section and down the aisle for the doors.   
  
Just as the guards in suits could be heard running down the escalator.   
  
They would soon turn and fan out on this floor.  
  
He-Kaneda pulled she-Ranma towards the escalator the mannequin had   
  
gone down. "The best disguise is not to be seen at all." Blocking her with   
  
his male body, the rode down.   
  
At the bottom, he looked around for the exit.   
  
But behind them, he heard, "The clerk says she saw the guy come down   
  
here!" Two guards were near the top of the escalator. "He helped one of   
  
the girls get away!"  
  
They started down, "A guy with long, red hair's going to be easy to spot!"  
  
He-Kaneda picked Ranma-chan up and dashed into the nearest   
  
department. There were stands and cages to crouch behind.   
  
Now that they were looking for everybody with red hair, he had to think   
  
about changing that. He needed to find a hat. Akane's messy uniform   
  
would only attract attention. That was ANOTHER good reason not to   
  
be a girl.  
  
Ranma-chan made a distressed squeal. Jerking his head around, he saw   
  
her back away from some cages in fear. He-Kaneda snickered that she   
  
should be scared of mice, or perhaps the snake that ate them. Ranma   
  
was so like a girl, now. Kaneda, though, was disappointed. Being a bold   
  
martial artist had been one of the things that had set Ranma apart from   
  
others. And what was left of female in him was devastated.   
  
The saleswoman also noticed Ranma-chan and moved towards her, "May   
  
I help you, Miss?" The woman WOULD like kittens! She was managing   
  
three at once.  
  
"C, c, cats." She-Ranma tried to walk away. But Kaneda waved her back.   
  
He couldn't be seen hiding.   
  
Nervously, Ranma stayed where she was. And of all the animal smells   
  
that clung to her, it was the cats' that was overwhelming Ranma. She-  
  
Ranma turned away and caught her reflection in a mirror. Her riding   
  
hood had cat ears and a tail--SHE had cat ears and a tail! "Hello, Kitty"!  
  
Ranma backed into the same cage that had moments ago repelled her.   
  
The wild cat saw the tail sewn on the back of the cape. It snagged it   
  
when it got next to the bars.   
  
Ranma heard its growl, and sensed that it was a "Cat!" She jumped   
  
away. But the claws were caught. In her panic, Ranma moved away,   
  
pulling at the cage. "Cat!"  
  
The saleswoman said something Ranma did not catch. She turned and   
  
the kittens were within striking range! "Cats! Cats! Cats!"  
  
Kaneda went to get the claws out of the riding hood.   
  
"Cats! Cats! Cats!..." Flailing about like a madwoman, Ranma bumped   
  
into him; Kaneda bumped into the cage; the cage door opened; the wild   
  
cat escaped; the clerk went to get the big cat; Ranma pushed the kittens   
  
away towards Kaneda; Kaneda caught them; but only after toppling   
  
more cages; more cats got out...  
  
One growl rose above the other cats' noises. It sent the cats fleeing, and   
  
sent a chill even through the macho he-Kaneda. It was followed by the   
  
sounds of things falling off of pegboards, and knocked from shelves as   
  
the wood was being ripped. It happened so quickly, that by the time he   
  
turned around, he saw Ranma-chan shredding through the stand. She   
  
escaped through the gaping break with a feral howl.   
  
He stopped trying to catch the animals and went after Ranma-chan. Why   
  
she was acting this way he didn't know, but she was pouncing and   
  
clawing at anything in her direct path to the exit. Even metal cages were   
  
no protection. Though, she ignored the canaries, crickets, mice, or   
  
whatever that was in them, they all seemed to slow Kaneda down.   
  
Outside, Ranma prowled about on her hands and feet, uncertain which   
  
way was out. There were too many of those two-legged creatures about. It   
  
made her nervous, penned in. She spit at and raised her claws to any   
  
that got too close.  
  
Those on the down escalator went back up, and those in the elevators   
  
pushed buttons to close the door. The escaped animals, too, knew to   
  
stay away from her.   
  
Everybody but one, Kaneda tripped over a doggie ball he didn't see,   
  
"Ranm--"  
  
Startled, Ranma raised her back and her claws. Backing away, she was   
  
ready to attack if challenged.   
  
Kaneda reached out, "Come on, Ranma! What's your problem!?!"  
  
This mind of this Ranma was more basic, more instinctual; and unlike   
  
she-Ranma, she didn't like the sound of the human's tone.  
  
It liked the yelling guards even more. They were running right at her.   
  
She launched her attack. Before they knew it, their batons and suits   
  
were in shreds. And Ranma had bounded off.   
  
With he-Kaneda following.   
  
Decency required that the guards did not go after either.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Ranma-chan had felt the breeze from the vent and had clawed and bit at   
  
it hard enough to rip the grate off. By the time he-Kaneda had arrived,   
  
she was gone and a swarm of squealing rats were coming out.   
  
Na came running up, "Vermin: That's Japan for you! Everybody just   
  
leaves piles of garbage bags out on the street with no can." Yuka was   
  
among the screaming people behind her.  
  
Before Na could ask Kaneda what he was doing there, he ran for the   
  
escalators up, "Ranma's acting totally weird! She went up the vent   
  
shaft!"   
  
Na said, "Crap! Here I thought she'd become a guy-magnet! Teases don't   
  
DO things like that!" Yuka saw the two of them and liked the idea of   
  
running. She followed.  
  
Reaching the stairs, he-Kaneda said out loud, "I don't think that hood I   
  
gave her's going to hide her face from all of the security cameras!"  
  
Na grinned, "Forget about them! There was a little...accident. Minor, but   
  
disabling."  
  
"That's good to hear. I hope." He took the stairs four at a time.  
  
Na grinned broadened, "There was also an accident with the forms Yuka   
  
filled out."  
  
He-Kaneda didn't hear her, for when he reached the next floor the path   
  
Ranma-chan had taken was clear. Most of the things in her way she'd   
  
pounced over or on, knocking over many; some she'd just destroyed.   
  
And with the customers now stampeding from the rats, it left a clear   
  
path for Kaneda.   
  
He heard one near hysterical lady cry, "That girl had rats in her   
  
MOUTH!!"  
  
He-Kaneda said, "What does Ranma think she is? I hope she doesn't   
  
EAT those things!"   
  
Though the door without Plexiglas and outside, he-Kaneda could still tail   
  
Ranma-chan. The traffic in this downtown town was in a honking,   
  
screaming chaos. A girl suddenly landing on the hood or roof just   
  
unnerved too many drivers. To get past them, he-Kaneda would have to   
  
develop his Tendo Tarzan technique.   
  
It wouldn't be as fast or pretty as even Ranma's human wall-running and   
  
roof-hopping, but it WOULD speed him up.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
Feeling more awkward than he moved, he-Kaneda pushed off from his   
  
hands from the roof of another car, landed with his feet on the white   
  
line, then pounced hands first on the next. He aimed for a concrete   
  
power pole; pushing off from there he would jump on the mail box, and   
  
then... He'd done this for several blocks. The tall buildings were left   
  
behind him, and traffic was thinner. But there were enough people   
  
about talking about the odd, strange, crazy or red haired girl in the red   
  
"super-Kitty" cape for him to know he was on the right track. (Not to   
  
mention the men still grinning over a girl bounding along in a "mini"   
  
skirt.)  
  
Ranma-chan seemed to be heading some place. And though it was in   
  
the general direction of Nerima, it didn't appear to be back to Kaneda's   
  
house. This worried him. Ranma had been raised semi-wild. With the   
  
way she was acting, if he didn't catch her, she might become completely   
  
untamed. And she had JUST started to become domestic.   
  
He turned a corner and left the land of traffic lines and signs behind. He   
  
was back in familiar territory, one with high privacy walls that made   
  
streets alleys. Most were newer ones of cement, but one large compound   
  
was made of wood and plaster.   
  
The dilapidated place was on the high side of the street, with steps that   
  
led up to its old-fashioned gate way. The sound of babies snarling and   
  
yowling just hurried Kaneda's memory, "The Cat Temple on 5th Street!"  
  
Then he saw the red cloak up in one of the trees that were taller than   
  
the temple's walls. "Ranma!!" Kaneda cried, rushing for her.  
  
He stopped in shock when he saw what was below the tree. A white cat   
  
TWICE the size of a panda! And it talked: "...Comme deown, Mmy Love!   
  
You responded to mmy bell! We are MEANT to be mmarried!"   
  
She-Ranma-cat looked down from a branch, her face lower than the   
  
"Hello, Kitty" tail she was twitching. Her meows were uncertain as she   
  
stared at the huge bell the monster cat was tinkling towards her. "If you   
  
won't listen to mme, then listen to mmy bell..."   
  
Bell? Cat? Japanese folklore was full of stories about the destructive,   
  
foreign beasts introduced from China. They had a power over the dead.   
  
And unless their tails were cut off, they would grow up to become goblin   
  
cats. Older cats, and those that had been mistreated could become ghost   
  
cats.   
  
Kaneda realized that cats, like badgers and foxes, were supposed to be   
  
able to control people! The bell had to be the way this ghost cat did it! --  
  
And it wanted to make RANMA his-- "NO-O-O!!" he-Kaneda cried, racing   
  
to attack his rival.  
  
He was attacked by the cats of the temple first. "Oh, mmy!" the ghost cat   
  
cried, and disappeared into its bell.   
  
Meanwhile, he-Kaneda was running around like a headless chicken with   
  
the horde of yowling cats clinging to him. Everything he did made them   
  
dig their claws deeper. This went on for a painful minute before he saw   
  
the temple's well. "Cat's HATE water!" and he dove in. SPLASH! ME-  
  
OWW!!  
  
From the bottom he said, "Hey! It's cold! With my luck, it could've been a   
  
hot spring."   
  
He got out the same way the cats had, climbing the drainage holes and   
  
seems in the stone-lined well. Again he was developing his Tarzan   
  
technique.   
  
But at the top, the ghost's face appeared, "So! You attempt to steal mmy   
  
BRIDE away from Mme!" Kaneda fell back into the water. SPLASH!  
  
The ghost cat said, "I shall seal you in here, until I have won control over   
  
mmy lovely fiancée!"   
  
He-Kaneda cried, "Wait!! Ranma CAN'T be your fiancee! She's my--She's   
  
a HUMAN!"   
  
Like a Cheshire, the ghost smiled down on him as it lifted the well's   
  
door, "Nnot human enough! For 3,000 years, the bell of Mmaomolin has   
  
been sending out its mmagic ap-peal. Any cat-like female within its   
  
range HAS to respond! Otherwise, she has to wear a smmall bell to keep   
  
her in harmony with mmy bell."  
  
Ranma WAS acting cat-like! And being much more female now, probably   
  
made her more susceptible, too. He-Kaneda cursed, "Why does there   
  
ALWAYS have to be complications!"   
  
Maomolin said, "Stay put until I can win her with mmy charmms!"  
  
He-Kaneda demanded to know, "You have to WIN her?!"  
  
"M-of course! Like any mmariage, she mmust AGREE to be mmy bride!"   
  
Then he chuckled as he shut the door, "Though that DOESN'T mmean,   
  
she has to agree willingly."   
  
Kaneda tried to think of something, "Uh, can you let me go to the   
  
bathroom, first?!" What a lame--  
  
The cat master of the temple opened the door, "You WOULDN'T! Cats   
  
have to DRINK that water, you know! This well feeds a system of   
  
troughs!"  
  
So it WASN'T lame! He-Kaneda threatened to unbuckle his belt, "This   
  
water is also starting to give me a cold." And he made like he was going   
  
to sneeze.  
  
Maomolin flung the door open, "OK! OK! Don't do anything! I'll toss you   
  
a rope!"   
  
When Kaneda had gotten to the top of the well, he found the ghost cat   
  
had drawn out its long claws. Making himself look as big and scary as he   
  
could, the ghost cat told him, "Get out! Get out, and never return!"   
  
He-Kaneda got into his stance, "I'm not leaving without Ranma!"  
  
Backing up, and trying not to cower too much, Maomolin said, "Sh, she   
  
CAN'T leave! I've placed a spell on her! She CAN'T leave the temple   
  
grounds." Its brave front had diminished so much that his assertion,   
  
"Ever!" sounded almost like a question.  
  
"Then take the spell off!"  
  
It ran, "Nno!! 3,000 years is TOO long to wait to be mmaried!"  
  
Maomolin ran back to the tree she-Ranma was in. "Come on, mmy bride!   
  
Comme to mme! Declare your agreement: All you have to do is leap into   
  
mmy armms!"   
  
He-Kaneda ran back, too, "Ranma! Get away! Jumping down and   
  
running isn't a problem for you! I KNOW you can jump from a third   
  
story!" Furinkan, no less.   
  
Running around to the other side of the trunk, Maomolin said to the   
  
bully, "Don't you know ANYTHING about cats? Cats can climb trees, but   
  
it's not easy for us getting DEOWN!"   
  
He-Kaneda said, "Then I'll go up and GET Ranma down myself!"   
  
Maomolin watched him climb, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."   
  
He-Kaneda told it, "Well, I'm not you, I'm--" She-Ranma-neko hissed,   
  
snarled, and then scratched.   
  
He-Kaneda landed with a hard thud on the flagstones below.   
  
Maomolin told him, "You mmay not be mme, but you ARE a mmale."   
  
The mauled Kaneda groaned, "What does that mean?"  
  
Maomolin smiled, "It mmeans she views us BOTH as potential grooms!"   
  
He-Kaneda forced himself to get up, "And she's not crazy about the idea   
  
of, uh, mating?"   
  
"Crudely put, but true. The Bride mmust be WON over!"   
  
He-Kaneda looked up at Ranma-chan in the tree, "So she has to be   
  
ENTICED? She'll come down to the one she favors." His increased male   
  
instincts preferred he dominate her rather than real challenge of   
  
winning her. But there was still a way to assert his virility; he turned to   
  
the ghost cat, "If *I* do it, you'll take the spell off of Ranma?! You'll LET   
  
her leave!?!"   
  
"M-of course not!"  
  
He-Kaneda clenched his fists and growled himself. "Then it's not a fair   
  
contest!!"  
  
"Who said I WANT a fair contest!"   
  
He-Kaneda swung with all of his pent up frustration at the animal. It   
  
disappeared into its giant bell. He smacked that clear over the temple   
  
wall and out of sight.   
  
Kaneda waited for the monster cat to return. Moments, then minutes   
  
passed. He finally relaxed his guard. He drew on what he had read about   
  
magic and the like, "He's a ghost cat. I guess he can't be out in the   
  
daylight unless the place has some cat magic." But that meant he would   
  
probably be back when it got dark. He looked up in the tree, "Come on,   
  
Ranma. We have to get you out of here while we can!"   
  
She-Ranma-cat gazed down at his hand. She reached down towards it.   
  
Her fingers curled in, she took a few tentative swipes at it. But she   
  
quickly withdrew her paw when he-Kaneda tried to grab it. Her claws   
  
come out again, and her hackles began to rise.  
  
"Ranma! I'm trying to help you! I'm not going, uh, make you my bride."   
  
Not when you're like this. He had never understood the fascination with   
  
cat-girls. And even if he did decide to try the fantasy, Ranma was WAY   
  
too much cat than girl. "You can trust me! Come, and let me take you   
  
home!" She just paced along the branch. She didn't trust him. But,   
  
then, neither was she trying to get further away higher up.   
  
He-Kaneda thought about climbing up there again and forcing her   
  
down. But that wasn't winning her over. If he did get her down, she'd   
  
probably do to him what she'd done to the store guards and run away.   
  
And this time she wouldn't let him get this close to her again.   
  
He-Kaneda knew when he was defeated.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Ghost cat or not, it did walk and talk (almost) like a human. He-Kaneda   
  
figured that it would have liked to have some things a normal cat didn't   
  
have. And, assuming ghosts could eat and drink like they did in   
  
animes, what could be more civilized than--Yes! He found the tea kettle   
  
right where he'd hoped it would be. Now he just needed to start a fire in   
  
the old temple's fire pit. He could use it to keep the hundred or more   
  
cats away.   
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
She-Ranma-neko was whining, making false starts at climbing head-first   
  
down the tree, and then crouching on the branch cat wallowing some   
  
more.   
  
She picked up her tail and mewed for attention when she saw Akane   
  
coming towards the tree. This creature in a dress didn't look at all like a   
  
male. And by now, she-Ranma-cat was definitely ready to get down. She   
  
stretched her body out towards the non-threatening human.   
  
Setting down the kettle, he-Akane held up both hands towards her,   
  
"Come on, Ranma! Come on down to me..." she said in as good a pet   
  
owner's voice as she could stomach. "Let Akane take you home. I'll give   
  
you a saucer of milk, and--"  
  
She-Ranma-cat dropped into Akane's open arms. The angle was   
  
awkward, and he-Akane didn't want Ranma to think she trying to trap   
  
her. Akane allowed herself to go down; she used her knowledge of how   
  
to land to cushion both their falls.   
  
Purring, she-Ranma-cat began to eagerly nuzzled he-Akane's face. "Okay! Okay!   
  
You can thank me later!" She reached for the kettle, "Right now we have   
  
to get you out of this temple. The ghost cat said he put a spell on you.   
  
Maybe it won't work if you don't LOOK like a girl."   
  
Just after the hot water doused Ranma, he kissed Akane on the lips.   
  
It was Akane's first kiss--And it was from a BOY!  
  
The End of this chapter  
  
[Note: Maomolin is a wanderer, always in search of a bride. In the canon   
  
"Ranma", even if the ghost cat had been near her when she had her cat   
  
fits, Ranma wasn't psychologically female enough to contemplate the   
  
idea of being anybody's BRIDE.] 


End file.
